[Orlando Sentinel]Weisbrod:My intention wasn't to take shots at Tracy from beginning

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...605,1,7968881.story?coll=orl-sports-headlines

A Q&A session with GM John Weisbrod




Frank discussion (ROBERTO GONZALEZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL)

Posted March 26, 2005


As the month of March began, the Orlando Magic had a lot of promise, right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Today, they've lost nine of 10 games and are on the outside of the playoffs looking in. This isn't exactly what General Manager John Weisbrod thought was going to happen when he took over last year. He spoke with Executive Sports Editor Lynn Hoppes in an exclusive interview.

Question -- Lynn Hoppes: What do you think about your season?

Answer -- Weisbrod: It's been intense and tumultuous. I had the feeling last March when I took over that there was a tremendous task in front of us. I was excited by the challenge. Last summer, we pushed the cart in the right direction, but we've now started running into some difficulties. Was it wrong to say that [we] wanted to go from dead last to making the playoffs? I don't think so. I think it is fair to reset the bar and set new goals. To see a team that should be competitive and then not competing at the highest level, that is tough to watch.

Q. Have the trades worked out as you expected?

A. The only trade that didn't work out was Doug Christie not being available at the end of the year. We made the trade with the hope and expectation that he would play this season. There were a lot of other factors, mostly future factors, that went into that trade. If I knew that Doug was going to be hurt, would we have made the trade? I think we still would have made it, based on those future factors. When it comes to the other stuff, I'm happy with the [Steve] Francis, [Kelvin] Cato, [Tony] Battie deals.

Q. What do you think about Christie?

A. I think coaches, media and fans can sometimes misjudge and misinterpret a player. But your teammates never misjudge you. Look at the quotes and the feelings of his teammates. Everyone in Sacramento reacted to his trade the same way the Magic players reacted to the trading of Cuttino Mobley. That stuff doesn't come easily or cheaply. It is a big adjustment for him. I still believe in him. But based on his age, he'll have to figure out whether he has the drive - the fuel and the fire in the tank.

Q. To get Christie, you traded Mobley, the best friend of Steve Francis. What do you think of Francis?

A. I still love Steve - especially coming off a player like Tracy. We were looking for somebody that really wanted to compete and was intense and a competitor, and he's obviously that. From a talent and work ethic standpoint, he is everything we could have wanted. It's obviously going to be a big transition in Steve's career to go from a great player on an average team to being a player that leads and makes his teammates better. I still think he has that in his future. He still has some growing to do. One of the sidebar issues of the Mobley trade was for Steve's growth. Even though it made him unhappy, uncomfortable and it's not fun to have your security blanket and best friend taken out of town, a lot of the thinking behind that was that it would be in Steve's long-term interest to get him where we want him to be. He is a coachable kid. He's hard-headed and used to doing things a certain way. But I think that winning is important enough to him that he will change, and he'll be a complete player.

Q. Looking back, do you think you would have done anything differently in your dealings with Tracy McGrady?

A. Shortly into this season, I called (Houston Rockets General Manager) Carroll Dawson because I felt badly about the aftermath of the trade. I had too much respect for him and that organization to go through this publicly with a player on his team. That's why I've just kept my mouth shut lately. But a lot has been misperceived. Things I said, the opinions put forth, I was not taking shots at Tracy or trying to do him any harm. That may be the way he feels, though. I tried to answer the questions on why we made the trade. Tracy is one of the most physically talented players in the league. But not all the things I said about him were wonderful. So that was upsetting to him. It caused it to be more emotional than it really was. My intention wasn't to take shots at Tracy from the beginning. Once he wore someone else's uniform, he was of no consequence to me. But I felt I owed it to the people of Orlando to explain why I made the trade. I did it as honestly and directly as I could. Unfortunately, it came off as trying to punch him in the head as he was heading out the door, and that was not the case.

Q. Do you think players want to play in Orlando?

A. I think they do. Steve's frustration was more about being traded from Houston without being informed or in the process. That was easily resolved. Doug was in a situation where he was in one place for so long. It's been emotionally unsettling. Players want to go where there is winning, and that hasn't been the case here for the past several years. But the reputation of Orlando as an organization is that the Magic are a quality organization, treating the players the right way. There are countless free agents and players who want to be traded here or signed here. All those indicators mean to me that Orlando is a desirable place.

Q. The fall guy in the struggles this season was Johnny Davis. Do you wish you could change something about that situation?

A. I would have rethought the situation at the beginning of the season when I said I would commit to him all season. By far, out of everything I've done professionally, it was the hardest thing I've ever done. That conversation with Johnny when I let him go, it was the single hardest thing I've ever had to do. Not the McGrady situation. Not the Doc Rivers situation. Once you put your hand in someone else's hand and go into battle with him, I'm not a big believer in pulling the plug early. It created a lot of conflict in me. But once we came to the conclusion that we weren't going to re-sign him for next year, I became conflicted about my responsibility to my current team and the greater good and my commitment to loyalty and commitment to Johnny.

Q. Do you think your bluntness gets you into trouble?

A. I tend to not take myself as seriously as others might take me. I'm a real direct person. I don't aspire to be right all the time. But I do desire to be sincere. I think our organization in the past, for whatever reason, was perceived as a spin factory. A lot of flash and smoke. I'd really like to go against that. I'm trying to be blunt and honest. If you don't like me or what I say, that's everyone's prerogative.

Q. What do you say to the critics who say you won't hire a coach you can't control?

A. That's not true at all. It is insecure leadership to not want the best possible people around them. I'm not about that at all. I would welcome the chance to be anonymous. The only objective I have for this team is to win. The Magic next season will be coached by whomever I think gives the team the best chance of winning.

Q. What about your future?

A. I don't think about my future. I'm sort of unorthodox when it comes to career stuff. People think that I have this master plan to take over the world,. this Harvard guy wanting to climb the sports ladder. Anyone who knows me knows that's not the case. All I aspire to do is whenever I get out of the shower in the morning, I'm fired up about where I'm going.

Q. What about the team's future? Will it be here in five years?

A. I think the team will be here. Whether that makes me optimistic beyond reason, I don't know. How long we're here will be based on the fans. The DeVos family loves Orlando, and it's the only place they want to be. Every process, thought, discussion on the arena and the future has been about how to make it work in Orlando. The family doesn't think about any other option than that. But ultimately, it'll be the community's right to decide if it wants a major-league team. One thing I'm upset about is the inaccurate portrayal of Rich DeVos as a guy putting a gun to the head of the people of Orlando. Mr. DeVos loves Orlando. We would hope the people would want us here. If people don't want us or sports is not a priority, the DeVos family understands that. There will be no hard feelings. But we want to make sure the people have all the accurate facts about the arena and make a sound decision.

Q. Why haven't the Magic come forward with their plan?

A. The last time around, we got accused of coming forward with exactly what we wanted, and everybody got up in arms. It has to be a community effort. That's the main reason why we're doing all this work to try to consider the renovation plan for the arena. We did a ton of research the last time, and that demonstrated to us that a renovation doesn't work. The easiest thing we could do now would be to say, 'Thanks for that possibility, but there is no chance the renovations will work'. In all likelihood, that's where we will end up. We're trying to do due diligence. We are trying as hard as we can.

Q. What about moving?

A. We've had a number of cities who have built arenas or are building arenas that have contacted us, but we haven't had any worthwhile discussions with any of them. And we have not proactively contacted anyone else along those lines. From our perspective, it is our desire to seek a remedy in Orlando every way possible. We need to extinguish those possibilities before even thinking of those other cities.

Q. As we near the end of the season, what kind of grade would you give yourself?

A. I would give myself a C. I'm disappointed we haven't performed better. I think we got an A in the NBA draft but maybe a D in the way we've managed the process of using the players. All in all, until you get into the playoffs and start beating the teams in the playoffs, you can't deem anything successful. That's what it's all about.

 

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