[Orlando Sentinel] Ex-Magic GM feels cool near ice

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Ex-Magic GM feels cool near ice
Published January 29, 2006

There is contentment now in his voice, happiness again in his step, hockey still in his blood.

John Weisbrod is feeling very much at home today.

Weisbrod, who resigned as the Orlando Magic's chief operating officer and general manager eight months ago, has been working in the scouting department with the Dallas Stars of the NHL.

It might be a long way from running an NBA franchise, but it's a short step to personal satisfaction.

Weisbrod, 37, was born and raised a hockey guy. And he's back in the thick of the game he loves, crisscrossing the United States and Canada watching hockey.

"I've been busy but enjoying myself an awful lot. It has been a great way to decompress after the rigors of the last couple years,'' he said Friday during a short visit back to Central Florida.

"It feels right. It feels natural for me to be back in hockey.''

Weisbrod became Magic COO in 2000, overseeing the entire RDV Sports business operation. He fired GM John Gabriel in 2004 and took over the job, which he held until he was forced to resign last May 23.

As Magic GM, he drafted No. 1 pick Dwight Howard. He hired and fired Johnny Davis as Magic coach. He traded Tracy McGrady and others to the Houston Rockets for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. The team improved from 21 victories to 36. He left suddenly during the debate over who the next Magic coach should be.

"I'm not trying to squeeze a round peg in a square hole anymore,'' he said. "I'm doing what comes natural to me. I'm a lot more comfortable, more at ease, in the hockey world.

"My time with the Magic, as it gets further and further away in the rearview mirror, it gets more positive.''

Although grateful for the Dallas opportunity, Weisbrod is looking toward the future, intent upon running his own team again. This time, though, it's likely to be in hockey and not basketball.

Weisbrod is being considered for the GM's job with the New York Islanders, the team he grew up adoring.

He met for the second time last week with Islanders owner Charles Wang, according to a report in Newsday.

Weisbrod declined Friday to comment, but it's no secret that he was born and raised on Long Island, and he lived every moment of the Islanders' Stanley Cup era as a teenager, often seeing himself on the ice in an Isles sweater.

As a player, he never got to the Islanders -- winning an NCAA hockey title at Harvard, getting drafted by the Minnesota North Stars, retiring with a career-ending shoulder injury -- but he possibly could get there as an administrator.

Soon after he left the Magic, he was a finalist for the GM job with the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

"When I first left [the Magic], I struggled with the idea of sticking my head right back in the oven,'' he said. "But now, I realize I want to be there again. Where and when, that I don't know.''

Spurs not dominant

San Antonio may be the defending NBA champion, but the Spurs don't scare anyone anymore.

At the halfway point of an 82-game season, the NBA has shaped itself into two distinct groups: The Detroit Pistons -- and everyone else.

When the playoffs begin three months from now, none of the other seven teams in the Eastern Conference really will have a chance against Detroit.

And all eight teams in the West will believe they can reach the NBA Finals to play the Pistons.

"There just isn't a powerhouse in the West anymore,'' Phoenix Suns forward Shawn Marion said last week during a stop in Orlando. "The Spurs are still champs, still the team to beat, but every team in the West is beatable. Anyone now could win the West.''

The Suns amazingly remain atop the Pacific Division, despite not having Amare Stoudemire all season because of knee surgery in October. He could be returning by early March, giving them the boost they need.

"I can't wait to get back. And when I do, I won't have any rust on me,'' Stoudemire said after the Suns lost to the Magic. "It will take a few days of practice, but I'll fit right back in.''

The Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers might not be far behind. The Los Angeles Lakers, with Kobe Bryant dominating games, also should be in the mix. So could the Memphis Grizzlies.

"The West is wide-open,'' said Suns point guard Steve Nash, last season's Most Valuable Player.

"I've got the utmost respect for the defending champs, but like everyone else, they can be beaten.''