http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...4226.column?coll=orl-magic&ctrack=1&cset=true Again, Magic aim high, shoot selves in foot Published March 9, 2005 Another medical mystery. Another player with a puzzling ankle injury. Another high-priced Magic acquisition who appears to be damaged goods. Not to be an alarmist, but didn't Grant Hill have bone spurs, too? It appears now as though Doug Christie will be out for the season with a cryptic case of bone spurs, and maybe we all owe Christie an apology. The initial inclination was to call Christie a quitter because he decided surgery was an option only after he was benched in favor of rookie Jameer Nelson. But dig a little deeper and you will understand that Christie has always been an iron man, not a girlie man. Never judge an individual until you've walked in his bone spurs. For Christie to quit goes entirely against what he has been about for his entire career. In Sacramento, he played through a variety of ailments and started 324 of a possible 328 games for the Kings. "Doug's history," Magic Coach Johnny Davis said before Tuesday night's game with Cleveland, "is to show up for duty." Don't blame Christie for being a bust this season; blame John Weisbrod for acquiring a guy who was busted up. No, this injury won't be nearly as physically or fiscally damaging as Hill's, but it sure looks like another example of the Magic making a bad deal on a bad wheel. Contrary to popular perception, Christie's foot injury didn't suddenly pop up after he was benched last week. He didn't lose his starting job and then concoct a phantom injury. I believe he lost his starting job because of a very real injury. The fact is, Christie was hampered last season and missed the entire preseason this year with plantar fasciitis -- a chronic inflammation of the tissue along the bottom of the foot. He told the Sacramento Bee that he needed an injection just to be able to play for the Kings in the postseason. And did you know he actually had foot surgery during the offseason? Through the first 31 games with Sacramento this year, Christie averaged just 7.3 points -- his lowest output in a decade. When Orlando acquired the defensive-minded Christie, Davis knew immediately something was awry. His fears were confirmed a few weeks ago when Christie began sitting out practices with a sore foot. "He just didn't look anything like the Doug Christie I had watched over the years," Davis says. "It was like, 'Wow, people are blowing by him.' " Weisbrod admits he was aware of Christie's ailments but insists the Christie-for-Cuttino Mobley deal was still advantageous. He says Mobley had to go to avoid the potential team-wrecking chemistry problems that likely would have developed when the Magic went ahead with their plan to put Nelson at point guard and move Steve Francis to shooting guard. Mobley, in the midst of a contract year, would have rebelled to being benched and perhaps persuaded his best friend Francis to make waves, too. "There were storm clouds on the horizon," Weisbrod says. "The deal was made for a host of reasons that go well beyond the immediate. In all honesty, the immediate basketball part of the deal was the lowest factor. We are looking long-term. Next summer, the contracts of Doug [Christie], Grant [Hill] and Kelvin [Cato] will all be up at the same time, and we'll be $23 million under the cap. You can do a lot with $23 million." Weisbrod sounds like he knows what he's talking about, but it sure looks like he got taken on this deal. Considering the team's history, how do you justify spending another $8 million a year on a player with a bum wheel? In the Magic's case, the head bone should always be connected to the ankle bone.
And Grant Hill's is a player option. Weisbrod usually tries to pull the jock stuff on journalists, but he's a bit out of his league at this job, I submit ...
"Mobley, in the midst of a contract year, would have rebelled to being benched and perhaps persuaded his best friend Francis to make waves, too." Agreed.
Weisbrod is obviously out of his depth. I don't even know where to start from but for a GM not to know the actual contract situation of his players is inexcusable. He said Grant Hill's contract expires next summer. Wow I cannot believe he allowed that to be printed in the newspaper (unless Mr. Bianchi heard him wrong). This could be grounds for firing because he could be making key decisions based on that wrong information. When I read that I went back to check again with Patricia and Hoopshype and I confirmed what I already knew or at least suspected - Weisbrod is likely wrong (I cannot believe I saying that with surety); Hill has a player option most believe he will exercise and it kicks in after this season and expires in the summer of 2007. I still remain Hill signing the 7-year contract with Orlando in the summer of 2000. Suffice to say, the team will not be $23M under the cap by the summer of 2006. Amazing stuff.
For a team in a small market owned by one guy (not a corporation) who has been rumored to have had the team on the block since before the 1999 CBA was signed.
Why not get something better? It wasn't even like the trade deadline was up when he did the deal. He is now even admitting that he knew Christie was hurt when he made the trade. Are you reading what I am reading? When the Golden States, Atlantas, New Orleans and New Yorks of this world are still in the NBA, I bet CD or Petrie could have gotten more for Mobley+Bradley. Heck Cleveland gave away a 1st round pick for freaking Jiri. Jiri Welsch? Someone got fleeced. That is the one of the main points at the crux of this matter. Also Mobley is in his "contract" year, he will be foolish to rasie hell if he is sent to the bench for the betterment of the team. He was a sixth man of the year candidate with Rockets. Even if he was sent to the bench, Mobley would have gotten his "numbers" and minutes regardless. And he insist on not taking it well, put him on the IL and let his contract expire as opposed to paying Christie $8.2M next season (unless he can move Christie this summer).
Well, I guess the 23M they will have next summer is a pretty good reason. But I doubt that was the main reason they dealt him, if he was afraid of "trouble" with his players, then he is in the wrong biz.
Pretty much what I assumed he was doing back when the trade dropped. He wanted Francis at the 2, figured he'd be more professional without his buddy, and wanted to dodge the heat he'd get for not attempting to resign Cat. Funny how he was so sharp at foreseeing all the chemistry issues on the horizon but somehow missed the danger of sending Steve into full scale pout mode. Genius. I also like how he's pulling a Ken Lay with his roster economics. Evan
not to mention trading him for sad-sack whipping boy Christie, who's basically an 8-million dollar a year punch line everywhere but sacramento (which causes him to sit in his room with the lights off and cry, by his own admisiion). He should have just cut Mobley or sent him away for a conditional draft pick if he didn't want him on the team, that idiot, rather than end up with the worst case scenario, which he did
Pitiful attempt at spin. He was taken in the McGrady trade (although he got 3 good players), and taken badly in the Mobley trade. They were headed to a possible homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a Francis-Mobley backcourt, they've got trouble now. They're one Hill injury or Francis trade demand away from another lengthy stretch of craptitude.
At the time, it was because Turkoglu was going to take his minutes and his starter spot. I guess moving Francis to the 2 is a better excuse, since Turkoglu being better than Mobley was too much of a stretch.
You really get more and more insight in to Weisbrod's character the more he opens his mouth ... and it's getting worse each time. He acts as if the deal was nothing more than a salary cap move, that the basketball reasons were nothing. Of course, this was Weisbrod THEN: When it comes to trading, Mobley was a rare double gem this season: A player in his prime who is talented and can score in bunches, AND an expiring contract. He took on an older, injured (apparently known), more expensive player BECAUSE he had another year on his deal? He did this to a team that was talking about making playoff noise in the East this year also. Basically, he got fleeced on the deal... not necessarily because he should have kept Mobley, but because he could have gotten much more. If he knew Christie was injured, he should be fired.
Like it was said earlier, if the Cavs were willing to move a 1st rounder for Welch, then the Magic should have done something similar with Mobley. Think the Nuggets would have been interested in that? Perhaps just give the Magic back the 1st rounder they took for Nelson? Another bad move was the Gooden/Varejo for Battie trade. I understand that Battie is a nice role player and that Gooden would have sulked behind Howard, but again, they didnt get VALUE for Gooden! And then to top it off they throw in a quality reserve in Varejo! The reason behind the MOVES the team is making make somewhat sense. But the VALUE they are getting back is 50 cents on the dollar. That doesnt justify the moves.
Uh...Grant signed a 7 year deal. This is year 5. Next year is an ETO option for Grant, which he will undoubtedly take for 16 mill. Grant Hill was a no brainer max player when he signed- I sincerely doubt he gave the Magic a team option on year 7. Even without Hill, the Magic have about 32 million committed to Nelson, Francis, Turkoglu, Garrity, Howard, and Stevenson. Throw in another couple mill for picks in the next 2 years (say 3 mill total), and three minimum salary "place holders" for being under 11 players (about 1.5 mill). I'm glad Weisbrod has determined he won't sign any multi-year deals this offseason, won't trade for any multi-year contracts, and that the cap in the new CBA two years from now will be right between 59 and 60 million. Too bad it looks like 17 mill of that "cap space" will be used on Hill. Hell, by Weisbrod's count, the Rockets will have over 15 mill in capspace even after signing Yao Ming.
So he called Mobley a cancer before Mobley showed whether or not he would be a cancer. What an idiot! So now he has taken shots at the Rockets management, McGrady and Mobley. This guy is a horrible GM when it comes to PR. He is decent at putting together talent, but has to big a mouth.
What is he basing his argument that Cat would have rebelled to coming off the bench. Cat has done that before in Houston, and played well, without disrupting any chemistry. Cat took less money in order for the Rockets to get better FA's. What in his past makes it seem like he would disrupt team chemistry and rebel?
