Jeff Van Gundy, cool dude that he is, has publicly held no perceptible grudges against the organization that fired him, and has generally spoken highly of our maneuverings even when result-wise we were stuck in a spin-cycle of mediocrity. Its no secret that he thinks very highly of Daryl Morey and has often gone out of his way to speak highly of the Rockets during broadcasts (sometimes even when they weren't playing!). But then I came across this: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...eturn-to-orlando-magic-20130605,0,906158.post [rquoter] Jeff Van Gundy doesn’t think Dwight Howard should sign a free agency contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets or even the Dallas Mavericks. No, he thinks Howard should return to Orlando and sign a free agency contract with none other than the ... Orlando Magic. "You know what he (Dwight) should do?" Van Gundy, the ABC and ESPN analyst, said on our Open Mike radio show Wednesday morning. "He should fly back to Central Florida and say, 'My bad ... I want to come home. This is where I grew up. I left it bad, and I want to come back as a free agent.' " Added Van Gundy: "(Dwight should) come right back to Orlando because that's where he prospered and that would give him the best chance to get back to being himself." [/rquoter] Of course, he's not saying there that the Rockets were wrong to go after Howard. But he's clearly bitter about the way Dwight left his own home-town team and threw his brother under the bus in the process. JVG was openly critical of Dwight throughout this last season as well. Has anyone heard a comment from him about this signing? If 790 can get him on and get his take, that would be an interesting listen.
He spoke on ESPN when it broke. He said Dwight has been very immature the last two years but felt that it was a great place for him to end up if I recall correctly, and that Dream would be very good for him.
The only reason Gundy gives for Howard going to Orlando is to mend fences with the Orlando people. Making strangers happy is an awful reason to make one of the most important decisions of your life.
Here is a link to the video of his comments: https://twitter.com/officialsemasir/status/353307251529883650
I'm not going to blame Jeff. I'd stick always stick up for my bro, especially if he was thrown under the bus.
After winning championships in Houston Dwight can go back and retire in Florida like the rest of us. There is work to be done first. This is real life and we dont have time for Disney games. PS. What new player is the Magic developing for us for the near future?
JVG has always placed high priority on loyalty. It's been one of his greatest character strengths IMO, even though it may not lead to the most agreeable conclusions.
Weird....it plays only from my iPhone and only via the Twitter App but not elsewhere. Here's a rough transcript for you I just did (about a 7 minute video): ESPN: What is the basic reaction in Houston? JVG: They're laid back fans, the ones in last 30 minutes are excited about what Morey has done in last 9 months. It's a great day for Rockets basketball. ESPN: Rockets or Texans town? JVG: Football town, but great fans. Fans support Rockets especially when they have a great team. This is a championship caliber team they've put together. They're going to score and score easily. They have every bit as good of a chance as anyone in the Western Conference to compete in the finals. ESPN: What does the move mean for Asik? JVG: I feel for Asik. Tremendous defensive rebounder. Offensively is not as good as Howard but a starting center in the league. I like the Parsons Harden Howard core. I think Lin was overrated with the burst but now I think he's underrated. I think he's going to play very will in the PnR with Howard. They've lost some key pieces...it'd be nice to add Josh Smith (obviously too late now). Whenever you put together a lot of good players, you need to have players willing to sacrifice. Howard will have to sacrifice. They're an uptempo PnR team. He won't get the ball always. He'll have to rebound, defend and be great rolling screen. I don't know how teams will be able to handle their PnR. They have shooting around Howard with Harden and Parsons. ESPN: Looking at the Lakers, what kind of impact does Howard's move have on their potential? JVG: Wow. We're really extrapolating today. We're already talking about LeBron James to the Lakers? For the Lakers future it's a devastating blow but I think next year the Lakers will play will. Howard is a great talent but was never happy there.
Van Gundy is not saying he does not support the acquisition of Howard. Nothing 2 see here folks.....and usually the OP is an excellent contributor.
It would be funny if the Orlando Magic ended up sending Dwight to a AAA rehab stint with the Lakers for a year and got a bunch of assets for him.
his points : He has to pick and roll , dominate the defensive, and the team will win if he tries to low post too much, it's going to hurt the team. (my point not JVG :looks like Howard needs big time coaching from Hakeem and Mchale)
