Weisbrod is Gone!!!

gucci888 · May 23, 2005

Another article said something about Flip Saunders taking over as coach and GM maybe.

jopatmc · May 23, 2005

All right, who are we gonna vote to take Weisbrod's place on the three GM stooges alongside Elgin and Deke?

Invisible Fan · May 23, 2005

Why hate the guy that gave us Mcgrady?

YallMean · May 23, 2005

Originally posted by Invisible Fan
Why hate the guy that gave us Mcgrady?
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Coz Tmac hates him.

YallMean · May 23, 2005

I guess it's tough to be a loser for so long. It makes you insane.

Magic fan posting

Hey, I think Weis did a good job setting up for the future, but in hindsight, he seems to be the scapegoat guy from the beginning. You know, the type that does the dirty work, takes all the blame and get fired. Kinda like a rebound gf/bf.
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Davidoff · May 23, 2005

Didnt JW say that T-Mac was a quitter and he wanted guys on his team that had heart and gave everything they had??

I guess JW really is a HYPOCRITE, the only thing he forgot to say was he wanted his TEAM to have heart and not quit... aslong as he could!!

F U JW!!

DaDakota · May 23, 2005

They were much improved this year over last.

DD

jo mama · May 23, 2005

t-mac faints

slcrocket · May 23, 2005

Originally posted by DaDakota
They were much improved this year over last.

DD
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How dare you add anything constructive!!

swilkins · May 23, 2005

Weisbrod is the best thing that happened to the Houston Rockets.

fba34 · May 23, 2005

dont you guys realize that weisbrod was actually working for the rockets. CD planted the guy in the magic organization just to get us tracy mcgrady and also as an added bonus, separate the 2-some of francis and mobley.

brilliant.

LonghornFan · May 23, 2005

Thank you Weisbrod. If it wasn't for you I'd still be forced to watch Francis dribble the ball for 23 seconds then shoot.

Every...friggin'...play.

Thanks for TMac, and yes, I'd like to supersize my order. DON'T FORGET THE KETCHUP!

Dolt.

MLittle577 · May 23, 2005

Thanks dor the Championships Weisbrod!

Wow, Orlando really is our b!tch, first a raping ten years ago with a 4-0 sweep, then we steal a potential top 5 NBA player from them to get more championships.

A-Train · May 23, 2005

Originally posted by DaDakota
They were much improved this year over last.

DD
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Yeah, they improved all the way from extremly crappy to slightly less than extremely crappy...

that saying, Weisbrod certainly gets my vote for executive of the year...

vlaurelio · May 23, 2005

Originally posted by LonghornFan
Thank you Weisbrod. If it wasn't for you I'd still be forced to watch Francis dribble the ball for 23 seconds then shoot.

Every...friggin'...play.

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its actually 24 seconds between him and cat.. and then the shot clock expires..

apostolic3 · May 23, 2005

Bianchi gives Weisbrod a goodby kiss.

Originally published in the Orlando Sentinel
Weisbrod puts Orlando on ice
General manager's split from Magic now best for all parties
Mike Bianchi
Sports Commentary

May 23, 2005

Everybody was right all along.

John Weisbrod really is just a hockey guy.

And now everybody gets their wish: Weisbrod, the straight-talking, no-nonsense general manager of the Orlando Magic, is leaving; skating off to pursue the puck once more. Either that or the Magic have just iced him.

His many critics get their wish because they never believed this puck head was qualified to run an NBA team in the first place. The Magic get their wish because the strong-willed Weisbrod is out of the way now, setting the stage for a new coach to build the team his way. And probably more than anything, Weisbrod gets his wish because now he can pursue his passion and leave behind his penance.

Sources told the Orlando Sentinel Sunday that Weisbrod is leaving so he can pursue a job in the National Hockey League, which should tell you that he must have been pretty miserable with the Magic. Come on, what man in his right mind would leave a seven-figure position in the NBA to seek a job that doesn't yet exist in a league that might as well not exist?

Makes you wonder if Weisbrod is leaving because he wants to pursue another job or leaving because the Magic want him to pursue another job.

Doesn't really matter, does it? The fact is, this is probably best for everybody involved.

The Magic's basketball operations will go on just fine without Weisbrod. Dave Twardzik, the director of player personnel, and Otis Smith, the director of player development, are the brains when it comes to scouting and evaluating players.

And as far as lobbying for a new or refurbished arena, that was never Weisbrod's forte anyway. He's never been real good at shaking hands, but what a master at stepping on feet.

In hindsight, the Magic got exactly what they needed out of Weisbrod. They needed a henchman; they needed a bad guy -- someone to be mean and heavy because the DeVos family likes to keep it nice and light.

Weisbrod's job was to come in and clean up a colossal mess and restructure the worst team in the league. It was Weisbrod's job to make sure popular coach Doc Rivers was fired. It was Weisbrod's job to get rid of longtime GM John Gabriel. It was Weisbrod's job to be a jerk.

Why do you think he relentlessly pressured Tracy McGrady into making a decision on whether to stay in Orlando or agree to a trade? Weisbrod's marching orders were to make darn sure McGrady did not leave the franchise as a free agent without the Magic getting some compensation.

Could he have handled situations with more delicacy and diplomacy? Sure, but it was this total lack of subtlety and savoir faire and his total disdain for the NBA's pampered little divas and darlings that I will miss. Who ever will forget when he was named GM last year and declared that the Magic, "are out of the prima donna development business."

Of course, that was only foolish dreaming. Weisbrod believed NBA players should play their hardest every minute of every game. He believed in the quote of his old hockey coach, Herb Brooks, who once said, "When you pull on that jersey, the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back." He believed in chemistry and camaraderie and toughness and tenacity -- all those other corny qualities missing in so many of today's NBA players.

By the time this season was over, it had become increasingly clear to Weisbrod that the NBA didn't jibe with his value system. Who ever will forget the baffled look on his face last summer when Tracy McGrady complained to the media that Weisbrod didn't call to wish him a happy birthday? Or what about when Doug Christie set up his own news conference a few weeks ago to complain because Weisbrod didn't protect him from the mean ol' media?

And even more galling, Weisbrod had to fly out to Seattle to smooth things over with Christie, who left the team during a crucial playoff run because of bone spurs in his ankle. During Weisbrod's hockey career, he had four shoulder surgeries, two surgeries on each knee and three back surgeries. He has three steel plates and six screws in his shoulder. He's broken both feet, both ankles, both hands, both wrists, both arms and all his fingers and toes. His jaw's been fractured four times, his nose seven.

And, yet, there was Weisbrod, kissing up to an NBA player who makes $8 million a year and abandoned his team because of bone spurs. It had to eat away at him. Let's not forget this was the same guy who said last year that he refused to kowtow to today's overindulged superstars. "I'm not going to chase them down and say, 'Pretty please, with sugar on top.' " Weisbrod said then.

Maybe when Weisbrod looked in the mirror and realized he was back in the prima donna development business -- maybe that's when he decided to get out of the business altogether.

Hockey is, after all, where he belongs. He has hockey sticks standing in the corner of his office. He can't wait for his Hockey News to arrive in the mail every week. And even now when you Google Weisbrod's name, the first thing that pops up is his college hockey bio at hockeydb.com.

Still, Weisbrod always said he detested quitters, and now he is quitting a job before it is finished.

It doesn't quite make sense.

And so we must ask this question:

Does Weisbrod really want to get back on the ice -- or is he being shoved through it?

Mike Bianchi can be reached at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.
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Deuce · May 23, 2005

Thanks for Tmac, Weisbrod! - Caroll Dawson
Thanks for Mobley, Weisbrod - Geoff Pietre
Thanks for Varejo, Weisbrod - Cleveland Cavs

emjohn · May 23, 2005

I'm waiting to hear about the class-action lawsuit that the people of Orlando are going to file against him.

Evan

Xerobull · May 23, 2005

I discounted the lead article when I read the 'stunning' part. To whom is this stunning? He drove the franchise further into the ground by trading Cat, as many have cited. What a dumb@ss.

J

Gatorfan76 · May 23, 2005

Weisbrod spent the 1st half of the season calling T-Mac a quitter only to turn around and quit on the team at the end of the season....

Ahhh-the irony .......

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