True, but we can't forget that this was the WORST team in basketball last year. Honestly, I think their fans are happy with a jump from absolutely horrible to not so bad. Orlando was going NOWHERE with Tracy. Now, maybe they could have done better than getting Steve, Cuttino, and Kelvin, but they're still a better team than last year, and improvement is always a good thing.
Exactly, the guy made the deal he had to. It amazes me that people who wanted this trade to happen are still criticizing the guy. Get off the guy. You got what you wanted.
Well I think it would be better and here's why... Finley has averaged 19.2 ppg throughout his career Jamison was last year's runner up for 6th man, one year he averaged 25 ppg and another he averaged 22 Nash averaged 15 ppg and 8.8 apg (good for 3rd in league) Then I think they could have traded Walker for Dampier As a result... PG- Nash/Nelson/Bogans SG- Finley/Stevenson/Augmon SF-Hill/Turkoglu PF-Jamison/Howard/Garrity C-Dampier/Battie I think this trade would have done them much better. On paper you would have to think that this team would be right there with the Pacers and the Pistons every year.
Unless their coach gets his act together this team will not overachieve. They are 'blessed' by playing in a dismal division (other than the Miami Shaqsters, of course). [What would Rox record be in that division v Magic's record in our division???] Last year's team + a healthy Hill would have been much better this year anyway.
You guys still have too much faith in SF to carry a team to the playoffs. Magic a 4-6 seed in the east? No way! Also, I think Grant Hill's NBA career is over. He's not gonna help the Magic even if he comes back on those blown out knees and ankles.
They traded Gooden too (to the Cavs) and the word is that Dwight Howard is raw and has no post game. NO is gone, but even in the East, they will have trouble reachging the playoffs. They have to beat out the Pistons, Heat, Pacers, Nets (if Kidd comes back), Sixers (practice?), Celtics, MIlwakee, possibly Cleveland, and the Knicks (YES I SAID KNICKS).
FD Khan, Brilliant sig. I wonder why Yao plays with such fire and intensity internationally, and yet assumes such a humble and self-effacing image in NBA games. It's almost as if he's two different players. Which is the real Yao? Could it be image-management on Yao's part? Y'know, wishing to be known in the US as the honorable Chinese giant rather than the very competitive leader we see when he plays abroad? I, for one, hope he brings more of that competitive fire back to Houston with him this season.
It's all a comfort level thing. He's been on the Chinese Team for years, and he's much more comfortable in terms of speaking out and bossing people around because he knows that he's the best and most experienced player. It takes a pretty damn big ego to go to a new situation like America and the NBA and boss people that are older and more experienced than you around. Yao being able to take charge of his Chinese team is the biggest reason why I think he has the leadership skills to succeed in the NBA. He has the ability to impose his will, he just doesn't have the comfort yet. I think things will definitely change once Yao acquires more experience in the role as the leader. I mean it took KG a lot of years to get used to that role too.
I don't know why some people suggest the Magic got a good trade out of this. They lost TMac. Only Orlando trolls can't get that through their head. Then there are others that say "look, they were the worst last year, but at least on paper they'll be MUCH better." Well, guess what, that's not because of the trade. They LOST talent. Drafting Howard would happen whether the TMac trade happens or not!!! If Hill can comeback and contribute, that's independent of the TMac trade as well. Orlando DIDN'T just go from crap to playoffs after the trade. They went from crap to playoffs after the trade, after the draft and after Hill said he'll make a comeback. Magic fans and Weisbro can spin it any way they want, but the bottom line is, THEY GOT SCREWED.
I don't think the Magic got screwed just like the Pistons didn't get screwed when sent Grant Hill to Orlando. Orlando didn't have any but Tmac so the fact that the got 2 stars and a good player for him is a good trade for them. The weren't going to attract anyone through free agency. I would eveb argue that a team consisting of SF Cat Grant Hill/Hedo Howard Cato is better than a team of Lue Tmac Grant Hill/Hedo Howard Declerq
It is very hard for me to say TMac isn't better than both Steve and Cat combined, especially if you consider TMac is like 4 years younger and basically the same age as Yao and most likely fits with him better. I give J Howard and Cato trade a wash. Secondly, there's also the issue with the bench. Had the trade not happened Orlando would have one of the Howards coming off the bench. Right now, well, you figure it out. Finally, the Steve/Cat/Cato combo had been tried already by... us. Sure you might say "yeah they'll be playoff each year in the East." Well, what's the point of making the playoffs when you can't win? The only thing they'll be getting is late 1st round picks.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...p17,1,6270989.story?coll=orl-sports-headlines By Tim Stephens | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted September 17, 2004 Sunshine Network is getting in on the reality TV craze with a makeover show of its own. Are the Orlando Magic the pro basketball version of The Swan? In Under the Lights: Magic Makeover, fans will get a chance to go behind the scenes with Magic General Manager John Weisbrod, Coach Johnny Davis and other key executives as they retool the worst team in the NBA. The show, hosted by Paul Kennedy, debuts at 6 p.m. Saturday and will be aired several times in late October. In documentary style, viewers can see team meetings in which Weisbrod plotted the course to transform the roster through the draft, with a blockbuster trade of superstar Tracy McGrady, and several free-agent acquisitions. Fans can see how Weisbrod worked around 10 guaranteed contracts and salary-cap limitations to clean house after a 21-61 season. The show opens with a nervous Weisbrod pacing the floors, bouncing a rubber ball as he waits to learn the Magic's position in the draft lottery. Cheers and high-fives erupted, followed almost immediately by speculation, when the Magic won the No. 1 pick. Perhaps the most interesting part of the one-hour show are workouts by UConn star Emeka Okafor and high-school phenom Dwight Howard. Okafor's workout was impressive, but Howard seemed to wow everyone associated with the team. Seeing conversations between Director of Scouting Dave Twardzik and Director of Player Development Otis Smith lend clues as to which direction the Magic would go. When Howard leapt to slap a spot on the backboard 12 feet, 4 inches high, jaws dropped. Viewers learn, however, that winning over Weisbrod with the pick was not easy. Davis, Twardzik and Smith had a selling job to do. "To say he was devil's advocate is underselling it," Twardzik says. "He really came hard at us to see if we would waver. "Everything we said positive about Dwight, he had three negatives." The goal, viewers learn, was to test the conviction of the staff. It was clear Howard was their man. Just as interesting was seeing the Magic brass "moved to giddyness like a bunch of kids" as they maneuvered to trade for the rights to college player of the year Jameer Nelson, the Denver Nuggets' pick at No. 20. Viewers see board-room discussions in which Weisbrod schemed to trade for players who might slip in the draft, and then see absolute joy when the picks fell perfectly to land the player he had briefly considered as a possible No. 1. The show also includes an interview with the oft-injured Grant Hill, who asked if "we're bold enough to blow this thing up?" Weisbrod certainly did that, as the show documents so clearly. Now we'll see if it works.
Not only did that team win forty five games in the West, they will have a better back up for Steve in Nelson, and they have possibly a franchise big man, and if Hill plays that will be huge upgrade over Shandon Anderson. We may have tried that combo, but the combo does have a better suporting cast in Orlando.
That kind of thing happens at EVERY NFL draft. Reporter: So what'd you think of so and so? Head Coach: It was UNBELIEVABLE that he lasted that long, luckily we got to pick a guy in the 6th that we had a 1st round grade on.
I woundn't call 2 rookies, who have not played a single game in NBA a good supporting cast, at least not yet.
Pffft. By the time Nelson and Howard comes into their prime and assuming they would become anything at all, Steve, Cat and Cato would be beyond semi - retirement. It's exactly like how EG didn't work out for the Rockets except EG was more NBA ready and Steve was younger. And no potential franchaise big man is as potential as Yao. If Yao, Steve, Cat and Cato barely snuck into the playoffs (and Yao is far more NBA ready than Howard), what makes you think they can make a run for the title with the rook?
The guy didn't say a run at the title, I think he meant 45 win type success for next season, that could happen. Run at the title won't happen unless Howard is really a KG clone like some have said he is, and even then it won't happen for a couple of years.
