Orlando's GM is terrible

That sucks about losing the bet, but the Magic have some bright spots despite their season.

1. Dwight Howard- this kid has been amazing, may not be as good as Okafor (stat wise) but Howard looks like the next coming of KG out there.

2. Jameer Nelson- has had a pretty good season, especially since he began to start. Kinda reminds me of a young Mighty Mouse out there.

The Cat for Christie trade is one for the books, I didn't see any reason for this deal. Wiseass will try to make his excuses seem legit, but the truth is that this was a lose-lose deal for them from the beginning.

 

This is why tinman is one of the best.

True. Most teams who win think about right now, what can make me a better team RIGHT NOW. See the Wizards trading Devon Harris for Jamison. See Bulls for drafting college players. See the Rockets for trading for veterans and getting rid of the young uns.

a. And he's a MUCH better poing guard, no matter what anyone else says.
b.
c. He actually wasn't pissed at first, he was after he realized how much Christie sucked and how stupid of a trade it was.

a. Deshawn>Doug - Stacy>Doug

Oh man... That's cold, a classic, but still cold.

Yes. Very stupid bet.

 

I'd say drafting Howard was the one good move he made. Howard is going to be a much better player.

 

It's really tough to say that drafting Howard over Okafor was a bad move. He's got tons more upside, and is (several years younger) putting up numbers that are at worst equivalent.

Christie for Mobley was easily the worst move made by any team in the league in at least a couple years. What's sad is, he still hasn't admitted that he blew it. He had visions of an unstoppable Nelson/Francis backcourt, and that lasted all of maybe 10 games and he's got nothing to show for it but a hole at the 2 and a soured Franchise.

His player managment couldn't be worse. Referring to players as 'kids' and bad mouthing some of them isn't a great way to get respect around the league.

While I'd agree Grant shouldn't have played more than 30 mpg, that's way more on the trainers, coaches, and Hill than Weisbrod. His shin injury isn't very serious though. His ankle is by all accounts dandy.

Firing Davis for Jent was piss poor. Way to pass the buck. I see the higher profile coaches thinking twice about coming to Florida because of his managment.

Evan

 

The coaching situation couldn't have been handled any worse. Davis should never have been retained, he showed nothing in Philly and nothing with Orlando last year. So, Weisbrod extended his contract.

Davis should have been fired mid-season, which is when you make coaching changes (see: Nuggets, Denver), so Weisbrod fires him in late March.

The Bulls (minus Curry and Deng) are now beating the Magic by 38.

 

Ya think? Aren't there already like 3 or 4 other threads on Weisbrod's suckitude?

Oh, and props for calling Doug Christie a horse. His wife is standing behind you now, look out!

 

Remember all the jumping up and down after the T-Mac trade.


At the time...its looked like an ok trade for them. Now its looks live they have been robbed in the worst way.

 

They would've imploded without the trade. There's no way McGrady could play well in that mess. How could Steve?

 

Sorry, but Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson were solid draft picks, and Howard has the potential to be a monster, a top 5 player in the league.

I'm in the minority on this, but the only downside of the Mobley/Christie trade was it put the Magic out of the playoffs this year. Since they weren't going to re-sign Cuttino anyway, it doesn't hurt them that much going forward other than showing plain as day that Weisbrod is clueless. I can think of a worse trade: Webber for Kenny Thomas & Corliss Williamson. The 76ers will be saddled with C-Webb, his declining mobility and his fat contract for years to come. What do these two trades have in common? Geoff Petrie, who is one of the sharpest GMs in the NBA. Only someone like like him could make an NBA franchise located in Sacramento be so good for such a long period of time. If I was another GM, I'd be scared to make a trade with the Kings after what happened with the Magic & 76ers.

 

I think the drafting of Howard was clearly one of the BETTER player moves. Howard is an incredible athlete. He is 6'11" right now and is projected to grow to 7'1". He has a thick body. He already is a very active player and a good rebounder. In a few years he will be a beast in the post! Not only that but he is a model citizen and a great teammate. I love Okafor, but Howard has WAY more upside in my opinion.

I think their use of the MLE with Hedo was good. He gave them exellant production when he was in there.

But their problems were when Weis-ass tried to trade for players that he felt fit into the TYPE of players he wanted for his system. That's fine and all but he never considered VALUE in making the deals.

1) He wanted a defensive minded backup PF to play behind Howard. So he moved Gooden and Varajeo for Battie. Absolutely TERRIBLE trade in terms of VALUE. Gooden > Battie and they threw Varajeo away! I know Weis-ass was looking for a certain TYPE of player but you cant trade away VALUE to get it. You have to MATCH VALUE.

2) Wanted a defensive guard to mask Francis' defensive weaknesses. So he moved Mobley for Christie. Again, they lose VALUE in this trade. Not only that it completely disrupted the team's chemistry! The problem was more TEAM defense than defense from one player. The problem was bigger than one player and yet they totally disrupted the team with this move.

And I totally agree on the Coaching situation. They shouldnt have even had Davis on the bench this year! He should have been FIRED in the offseason. This team needs a STRONG hand, someone that will preach defense.

I would be scared right now wondering what Weis-ass is going to do with the expiring contracts after next season of Christie, Cato etc. Who knows what moves he will make. But you can probably get favorable odds he will get 50 cents on the dollar on any trade!

I bet teams are lining up one after the other to make trades with Orlando.

 

Man, you nailed it! I didn't realize Varejao was drafted by the Magic. That trade was totally one-sided. You could argue that BOTH Gooden and Varajao are better than Battie.

For that matter, your whole post was solid and I agree with it all.

The amazing thing is despite Weisbrod's goof ups, the Magic still have a bright future. Howard, Nelson, TurkeyGlue are a decent foundation. I think they should trade Francis and just get what they can for him. Equal value, whatever that is, won't happen. Get someone who will fit into their team. Just think if they kept Varajao. They could move Howard to center next year, try starting Varajao at the PF, TurkeyGlue at SF, have Jameer Nelson at PG with Grant Hill at SG. Add to that whatever they get for SF. They could be a poor man's Suns.

 

didn't you say in the beginning of the year that Weisbrod was a genius for getting rid of Juwon Howard?

 

The T- Mac trade was actually an understandable one given the situation he was under. It's the moves after that really hurted his team. Trading Gooden and Varejo for Battie, Mobley for Christie, holding on to Davis only to unload him with around 30 games left. I still say that getting SF, Mobley and Cato back for Howard and T-mac wasn't that bad of a trade. Atleast half of the GM's in the league will pull the trigger on that trade in his situation, it's themoves after that raises an eyebrow.

 

I don't think you can blame the guy for drafting Howard, splitting up dribble diarrhea, and trying to move Steve to the 2. Those aren't crazy moves. Getting Christie was definitely not enough for Cuttino, though. What a bad move in hindsight.

 

I can agree he had to get rid of T-Mac because the situation deteriorated so much. (But it deteriorated so low because Weisbrod couldn't keep his mouth shut).

With that in mind, he should have chosen the best deal available. Does anyone remember exactly what the Pacers and Suns were offering? I can't remember exactly but I think the Pacers were packaging Artest, Tinsely, Bender and maybe another player. The Suns were offering Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson? and someone else I think.

I remember thinking the Rockets offer was clearly the third best deal to be had. That's why I didn't think the trade (with the Rockets) would happen. That's the reason I called him an idiot when the trade was consummated. If anyone remembers exactly what the Pacers and Suns offered for T-Mac, please refresh my memory. Thank you.

 

Hindsight? I think the reaction was fairly unanimous the same night it was announced. And then it got worse.

Evan

 

My guess is was pulling a Scott Boras. The Pacers and Suns probably weren't offering him jack, and he was using that as leverage to get the best possible deal from the Rockets. Plus, McGrady stated that he would only sign a long term deal with the Rockets.

 

Say what? You think Weisbrod was pulling a Boras? I know the Pacers made a legitimate offer because I read it in the Indy Star (online). Larry Bird wouldn't confirm or deny anything at the time (another sign) but a while afterwards he commented that he thought what the Pacers offered was better than what Orlando got. He never said exactly what they offered. And T-Mac mused publicly a few weeks back on what it would have been like if he was swapped for Shawn Marion (and others) and played in Phoenix this year.

The other 2 offers were public knowledge and I know someone else on Clutch BBS has a better memory than mine. Oh well, the main thing is after dragging it out two weeks Weisbrod took Francis. That cheap shot SF threw on Amare Stoudimire turned out to be on of the best things to ever happen to this franchise.