Orlando Magic

[Uncommon]

3 hours ago, elefants said:

Damn that's easy.  How does a team get a top 3 drafted player like that?

Which things would those be?   What currently needs to be done differently?

Gotcha.  So we should be restructure by getting rid of the old administration and and move on from the mistakes that were made in the past.  Kind of like what happened when the Orlando Magic got rid of Rob Hennigan and his mediocre players and set up a foundation for long term success rather than wins (and a first round playoff exit) right now.

Ah you do get it.

It’s honestly shocking how little non-NBA fans know about the Magic. You can have an opinion because that is everyone’s basic right, but my god, when people know next to nothing about the sport, it is abundantly clear.

[jrs2]

3 hours ago, AmIReal said:

I appreciate the effort of your original response @jrs2, I just don't understand much of it or the relevancy to the Magic. You agreed with me that college ball is not the same as pro sports, but most of your examples seem to be related to college sports and something to do with Rodman and Madonna (that also went over my head).  But what I think is your bottom line is team owners should do what they can to create winners. In that regard, over the past 15 years the Magic have had a top 10 payroll about half the time. I think that is a large part of what a committed owner should do and is definitely not the "bare minimum". You also indicate hiring a new head coach is a good way to restructure from the top down. If you believe that you should love the Magic since they have done it 10 times in the past 15 years.

Regarding coaches- I wish we could move past the lionization of Van Gundy. He won when he had great players (Shaq in Miami and Howard in Orlando), but he has other wise usually lost (Detroit/ NO). He has been ran out of each of his jobs and now can't get one in the league. Fans may love his erstwhile outspokenness, but he puts off players- and lets face it, they are the product. Good guy, good coach, lousy manager of people. I'm glad we had him and I'm glad he's gone.

And in case you and  @spenser1058 didn't know, the arena is owned by the City of Orlando. The Magic paid $50M of the up-front building costs, all of the overrun costs ($7M), $1M per year for 30 year lease and $40M for naming rights for 10 years. Btw, that contract is expired and there will likely be a new name atop the arena next year (I heard rumors of an airline, but don't believe it).

The City provided land and infrastructure and collect the aforementioned $70M, plus all proceeds from all events (concerts, wrestling, Solar Bears, NCAA games, etc) held in the arena EXCEPT Magic games, which go to the Magic. The County paid most of the construction using TDT funds. If you dislike that, take it up with your State legislature.

The Magic draw over 15k to every home game (41 games). What the downtown businesses do with those potential customers is up to them, but I don't see it as the Magic's job to hand cart each of them to awaiting businesses.  The same goes for all the other events held at the venue.

The arena was not sold as the only anchor to downtown. It was part of a 3 way deal with the arena, Dr Phillips and Camping World. I think in 2 years, in a non-covid world, they will all be doing better. Just like I think in 2 years the Magic will also.

In the end @jrs2 , people like me and @Uncommon may not "get it". That is entirely possible. It may also be possible the 2 people in this conversation who admit they don't follow pro sports are less informed than they think they are. 

you make good points.  I used to follow pro sports closely right up until dude for SF sat during the pledge for political reasons.  Until that time, I was attending pro sports games since the 1980's. I watched more NBA games (Bulls games) than anybody here in the Late '80's and '90's.  I closely followed the Marlins until they sold off the team TWICE like Pittsburg did before them, and then said screw it.  I attended dozens of Magic games in the 2000's, attended The Finals games with VanJeremy as coach.  I talk to people too.  Not that I owe anyone a resume on this, but, I've seen enough with other franchises and this one to get a pretty good idea on when ownership really wants to spend the $$$ and when they don't.  I'm not going to debate the details.  I want the Magic to do well.  I just don't think they ever will because of what I've seen done in the past.  

When you are an invested fan, you see things through rose colored glasses.  Only when you take a step back do you see the reality in an unbiased way (as with most things).  The new young players is no different than a few years ago when they had another group of new young players and colleagues with season tix were hyping up the team and it's future potential.

But that's all it is...hype...it's sales...to keep interest there...because there's always new people becoming fans. It's just the older fans that become jaded over time.  Not jaded to become a hater; rather, jaded to open their eyes and see what's really going on.

If they would have gotten Rodman back when it was in play, they would have gotten an icon and great defender and rebounder.  Instead, they then or close in time later do a deal for Grant Hill who was perpetually injured- and they got him for that reason after his glory days at Detroit if you can call them that. He entered the draft in '95.  They had TreMac and let him go.  We know about Shaq.  We know about Dwight.  It's just too much BS over time which shows a pattern.

Just remember that if you are invested, you can't be objective. I'm not saying you guys don't know what you're saying.  The VanJeremy example just illustrated that the organization was letting the tail wag the dog and they were clueless on what was going on in the locker room and with players' agents.  If Dwight would have stayed, then they excised a cancer.  That proved that the Magic are like a farm league team; great players start there and then leave for the big boy teams.  That is how the administration has allowed things to go since they let Shaq go.

If they win, great.  If they don't, it's because of the above.  I hope they win for the sake of the City and the fans.

[jrs2]

1 hour ago, Uncommon said:

It’s honestly shocking how little non-NBA fans know about the Magic. You can have an opinion because that is everyone’s basic right, but my god, when people know next to nothing about the sport, it is abundantly clear.

well, I know what I've posted on and more stuff that I've already forgotten.  If the Magic are doing all the right things, then prove me (and whomever else) wrong.

Another analogy forthcoming:  at UF, they were looking for signs of progress in different areas to not fire Dan Mullen; because those weren't present, they decided to go in another direction. Had Mullen exhibited one of those "signs", the administration might have kept him with similar lackluster results.  I'm not Confucius (or however it's spelled).  So if the Magic exhibit one of those "signs" for success or moving in the right direction, then they keep keeping on with the same plan, right?  Young talented players, right?  Anything else they've done?  Because they've already had young talented players before.  There's been salary cap issues and talk and all that jive before numerous times.  They've had veterans mixed in with young players.  How is it different now.  And if you have a Magic pennant hanging on your wall, or if you have season tix, you may not be able to answer objectively.

[spenser1058]

8 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

well, I know what I've posted on and more stuff that I've already forgotten.  If the Magic are doing all the right things, then prove me (and whomever else) wrong.

Another analogy forthcoming:  at UF, they were looking for signs of progress in different areas to not fire Dan Mullen; because those weren't present, they decided to go in another direction. Had Mullen exhibited one of those "signs", the administration might have kept him with similar lackluster results.  I'm not Confucius (or however it's spelled).  So if the Magic exhibit one of those "signs" for success or moving in the right direction, then they keep keeping on with the same plan, right?  Young talented players, right?  Anything else they've done?  Because they've already had young talented players before.  There's been salary cap issues and talk and all that jive before numerous times.  They've had veterans mixed in with young players.  How is it different now.  And if you have a Magic pennant hanging on your wall, or if you have season tix, you may not be able to answer objectively.

Being awful for a decade is the hallmark of the NBA? Fascinating. If that’s the case, I’m grateful to the DeVos family for being homophobic, anti-public education and running a quasi-pyramid scheme for sending me straight to UCF Athletics (along with Urban Liar - oh, what a pair!)

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

7 - 32

[Uncommon]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

well, I know what I've posted on and more stuff that I've already forgotten.  If the Magic are doing all the right things, then prove me (and whomever else) wrong.

Another analogy forthcoming:  at UF, they were looking for signs of progress in different areas to not fire Dan Mullen; because those weren't present, they decided to go in another direction. Had Mullen exhibited one of those "signs", the administration might have kept him with similar lackluster results.  I'm not Confucius (or however it's spelled).  So if the Magic exhibit one of those "signs" for success or moving in the right direction, then they keep keeping on with the same plan, right?  Young talented players, right?  Anything else they've done?  Because they've already had young talented players before.  There's been salary cap issues and talk and all that jive before numerous times.  They've had veterans mixed in with young players.  How is it different now.  And if you have a Magic pennant hanging on your wall, or if you have season tix, you may not be able to answer objectively.

What young, talented players do you speak of? Because for the better part of this decade, once Dwight Howard left, the Magic largely relied on veterans to build their team, not hotshot rookies. Vucevic, Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Arron Afflalo, and Terrence Ross all come to mind (if you don’t know all these players, I seriously doubt your ability to answer objectively and with any kind of credibility). They weren’t aiming for young, talented players and they weren’t aiming for a mix of veterans and young players. They were just bad, and the mismatched pieces came together out of sheer accidence.

Starting in 2014, a year or two A.D. (After Dwight), the Magic weren’t tanking at all. They were desperate to regain relevance and heal from Dwight’s stinging departure. And for that, they were rewarded with annual 30-40 win teams not quite good enough for the playoffs and not quite bad enough to receive high lottery picks. They tried their damnedest to win, hiring veteran, win-now coaches like Scott Skiles, Frank Vogel, and Steve Clifford. Hell, they even traded away promising young players in Oladipo and Tobias Harris for win-now players in Erasmus Ilyasova and Serge Ibaka. Clearly, they have been hell bent on competing and winning since at least 2015. It just hasn’t worked out. This is why I take issue with exceedingly stupid comments about the Magic tanking for a very long time, like @spenser1058 has asserted. Even a casual Magic fan will maintain the franchise has TRIED to win for most of this decade; they’ve just had poor results. Only recently has the team decided to lean completely into young, unproven talent as a springboard for future success. Yes, it has come at the expense of the present and at the expense of wins. But focusing on the present when there is nothing but mediocrity on the roster will merely continue to mire the Magic in a middling, purgatorial treadmill of meh.

All in all, the Magic have not been a successful organization post-2013. But it is not because of tanking, and it is not because of the Devos family, no matter how much @spenser1058tries to force his annoying political viewpoints down our throats (I truly love his writing but I’m close to blocking him). Team management has just made stupid decisions, and then been fired and replaced. I applaud Weltman and Hammond for taking a measured approach to future success. Cutting corners is why the Magic have been irrelevant for close to 10 years. We are finally doing it right: building through the draft, making shrewd financial decisions, and operating with patience.

[elefants]

41 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

7 - 32

What absolute tool cheers on the losses of the hometown team?  What point are you trying to make?  Are you hoping the DeVos family stumbles upon this tiny forum, reads your heckling and changes their ways?  Several other members have called you out for being a petulant, repetative child and I've brushed it off since you contribute to the forum in other ways.  You are a truly unlikable person and it will give me great pleasure to ignore you.

[AmIReal]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

you make good points.  I used to follow pro sports closely right up until dude for SF sat during the pledge for political reasons.  Until that time, I was attending pro sports games since the 1980's. I watched more NBA games (Bulls games) than anybody here in the Late '80's and '90's.  I closely followed the Marlins until they sold off the team TWICE like Pittsburg did before them, and then said screw it.  I attended dozens of Magic games in the 2000's, attended The Finals games with VanJeremy as coach.  I talk to people too.  Not that I owe anyone a resume on this, but, I've seen enough with other franchises and this one to get a pretty good idea on when ownership really wants to spend the $$$ and when they don't.  I'm not going to debate the details.  I want the Magic to do well.  I just don't think they ever will because of what I've seen done in the past.  

When you are an invested fan, you see things through rose colored glasses.  Only when you take a step back do you see the reality in an unbiased way (as with most things).  The new young players is no different than a few years ago when they had another group of new young players and colleagues with season tix were hyping up the team and it's future potential.

But that's all it is...hype...it's sales...to keep interest there...because there's always new people becoming fans. It's just the older fans that become jaded over time.  Not jaded to become a hater; rather, jaded to open their eyes and see what's really going on.

If they would have gotten Rodman back when it was in play, they would have gotten an icon and great defender and rebounder.  Instead, they then or close in time later do a deal for Grant Hill who was perpetually injured- and they got him for that reason after his glory days at Detroit if you can call them that. He entered the draft in '95.  They had TreMac and let him go.  We know about Shaq.  We know about Dwight.  It's just too much BS over time which shows a pattern.

Just remember that if you are invested, you can't be objective. I'm not saying you guys don't know what you're saying.  The VanJeremy example just illustrated that the organization was letting the tail wag the dog and they were clueless on what was going on in the locker room and with players' agents.  If Dwight would have stayed, then they excised a cancer.  That proved that the Magic are like a farm league team; great players start there and then leave for the big boy teams.  That is how the administration has allowed things to go since they let Shaq go.

If they win, great.  If they don't, it's because of the above.  I hope they win for the sake of the City and the fans.

So because I invest my money in buying tickets that makes me less qualified to look at the team critically...? I've owned seats, or partials since their inception. During that time and off and on, I've also owned seats for the Hawks, Warriors, Braves, Jags and Bucs, UCF football as well as UF and FSU and over 30 years, with my travels, I've attended games at nearly every pro basketball/ football and baseball arena/ field. Do you think I'm not able to discern anything about those teams either? How about the companies I own? Am I qualified to evaluate them after I've invested in them? I invested heavily in dinner over the weekend- do you think my purchase may cloud my ability to be critical about it.

Fwiw, which I suspect is very little, the Magic signed Grant Hill in 2000. At that point, Rodman was late 30's, coked out of his mind, and out of the league. The Mavs- for some stupid reason- signed him mid-season and went on a sudden losing streak, cut him after a dozen games and he was never heard from again except when partying with the N. Korea dictator. Do you really think the Magic made a mistake passing on him? When they signed Hill he was going into his 7th year- was definitely not injury prone and considered to be far from past his glory days- and was coming off a 25ppg season. By all accounts he was the number 2 free agent that year, behind Tim Duncan.

A lot has changed in all sports- pro and college- in the past two-plus decades, but relying on what you 'learned" back then is not instructive to now.

32 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

7 - 32

Yep. And it was a pretty good game. Were you there...?

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I’m grateful to the DeVos family for being homophobic, anti-public education and running a quasi-pyramid scheme for sending me straight to UCF Athletics

You must be a big fan of this... https://business.ucf.edu/devos/

The DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at UCF, where they focus on "on ethics, diversity, leadership, community service and innovation" and their slogan is "Sport for positive social change".

They have special progams for ethics, diversity and even social justice. I'm sure you support those issues, don't you?

 

6 minutes ago, elefants said:

What absolute tool cheers on the losses of the hometown team? 

You already know the answer...

[jrs2]

On 1/5/2022 at 10:20 PM, Uncommon said:

What young, talented players do you speak of? Because for the better part of this decade, once Dwight Howard left, the Magic largely relied on veterans to build their team, not hotshot rookies. Vucevic, Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Arron Afflalo, and Terrence Ross all come to mind (if you don’t know all these players, I seriously doubt your ability to answer objectively and with any kind of credibility). They weren’t aiming for young, talented players and they weren’t aiming for a mix of veterans and young players. They were just bad, and the mismatched pieces came together out of sheer accidence.

Starting in 2014, a year or two A.D. (After Dwight), the Magic weren’t tanking at all. They were desperate to regain relevance and heal from Dwight’s stinging departure. And for that, they were rewarded with annual 30-40 win teams not quite good enough for the playoffs and not quite bad enough to receive high lottery picks. They tried their damnedest to win, hiring veteran, win-now coaches like Scott Skiles, Frank Vogel, and Steve Clifford. Hell, they even traded away promising young players in Oladipo and Tobias Harris for win-now players in Erasmus Ilyasova and Serge Ibaka. Clearly, they have been hell bent on competing and winning since at least 2015. It just hasn’t worked out. This is why I take issue with exceedingly stupid comments about the Magic tanking for a very long time, like @spenser1058 has asserted. Even a casual Magic fan will maintain the franchise has TRIED to win for most of this decade; they’ve just had poor results. Only recently has the team decided to lean completely into young, unproven talent as a springboard for future success. Yes, it has come at the expense of the present and at the expense of wins. But focusing on the present when there is nothing but mediocrity on the roster will merely continue to mire the Magic in a middling, purgatorial treadmill of meh.

All in all, the Magic have not been a successful organization post-2013. But it is not because of tanking, and it is not because of the Devos family, no matter how much @spenser1058tries to force his annoying political viewpoints down our throats (I truly love his writing but I’m close to blocking him). Team management has just made stupid decisions, and then been fired and replaced. I applaud Weltman and Hammond for taking a measured approach to future success. Cutting corners is why the Magic have been irrelevant for close to 10 years. We are finally doing it right: building through the draft, making shrewd financial decisions, and operating with patience.

well, I wouldn't block him.  I get it...but, don't be THAT guy.

As for the Magic, maybe I for one am in not so good of a place to gage whether their moves are the right moves for a formula for success.  I dunno.  I don't dislike the Devos clan per se, I just have seen opportunities squandered, i.e., per my prior posts, and feel like the moves they do make are strategic at best to keep fan interest but to not win championships.  counterintuitive?  maybe.  but if they keep the fans interested, they've done their job from a business perspective.  I just don't believe their intention is to build a champion versus doing just enough to get by.

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, jrs2 said:

well, I wouldn't block him.  I get it...but, don't be THAT guy.

As for the Magic, maybe I for one am in not so good of a place to gage whether their moves are the right moves for a formula for success.  I dunno.  I don't dislike the Devos clan per se, I just have seen opportunities squandered, i.e., per my prior posts, and feel like the moves they do make are strategic at best to keep fan interest but to not win championships.  counterintuitive?  maybe.  but if they keep the fans interested, they've done their job from a business perspective.  I just don't believe their intention is to build a champion versus doing just enough to get by.

If they keep the arena full, then they’re at least doing what the city and county paid them to do. When a team has been bad for a decade, I wonder about the supposed great reputation they are giving the city, but that’s secondary.

More importantly, their “strategy” has led them to the bottom 20% of league attendance for 2022. That’s not doing their job.

As much as I dislike the DeVos clan and all they stand for, I can overlook a lot if you’re successful. I groan at Publix’ politics, but given their success (and as a homegrown Central Florida business, no less!), they’re fine by me. Same with the Cathys of Chick-Fil-A, who all but invented the fast food chicken sandwich. Their stores are spotless and they have some of the best employees in the business. They lead the list in their industry.

Performance matters. I’d sure like to see some from the DeVoses.

Btw, I hold no ill will if anyone chooses to block my posts. I refuse to join the amen corner when things in Orlando aren’t working. We can do better.

Edited January 10, 2022 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

On 1/5/2022 at 10:28 PM, AmIReal said:

So because I invest my money in buying tickets that makes me less qualified to look at the team critically...? I've owned seats, or partials since their inception. During that time and off and on, I've also owned seats for the Hawks, Warriors, Braves, Jags and Bucs, UCF football as well as UF and FSU and over 30 years, with my travels, I've attended games at nearly every pro basketball/ football and baseball arena/ field. Do you think I'm not able to discern anything about those teams either? How about the companies I own? Am I qualified to evaluate them after I've invested in them? I invested heavily in dinner over the weekend- do you think my purchase may cloud my ability to be critical about it.

Fwiw, which I suspect is very little, the Magic signed Grant Hill in 2000. At that point, Rodman was late 30's, coked out of his mind, and out of the league. The Mavs- for some stupid reason- signed him mid-season and went on a sudden losing streak, cut him after a dozen games and he was never heard from again except when partying with the N. Korea dictator. Do you really think the Magic made a mistake passing on him? When they signed Hill he was going into his 7th year- was definitely not injury prone and considered to be far from past his glory days- and was coming off a 25ppg season. By all accounts he was the number 2 free agent that year, behind Tim Duncan.

fair enough. but wasn't Hill already on IR when they signed him?  yeah, his last year with the Pistons, he hurt his ankle and that was the recurring injury that would plague him with the Magic.  I remember this.  With that injury, the Magic signed him anyway.  This was a big question mark with the fans back then- me being one of them.  

when you're a fan you make excuses for the team, no matter what the team is.  It's just a simple fact.  You can be their biggest critic, but, you also hold out hope and when you do that you make excuses ala wishful thinking.  It's just a basic concept.  When you step back from it you see it for what it really is.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE:  Florida Gators football.  EJ makes late reads and throws picks.  I like the Gators.  I hope he plays well against UCF.  A Miami fan would scout that game and aside from the G5 comparison bias, would say that he won't play well in the game.  Two perspectives; the fan says we're stuck with him so hope for the best.  The Fantasy Football fan stays clear of him when betting.

Now translate this thought process to the Magic.  Apples and oranges but the concept is the same when being critical of them.  Am I really off here?

[jrs2]

23 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

If they keep the arena full, then they’re at least doing what the city and county paid them to do. When a team has been bad for a decade, I wonder about the supposed great reputation they are giving the city, but that’s secondary.

More importantly, their “strategy” has led them to the bottom 20% of league attendance for 2022. That’s not doing their job.

As much as I dislike the DeVos clan and all they stand for, I can overlook a lot if you’re successful. I groan at Publix’ politics, but given their success (and as a homegrown Central Florida business, no less!), they’re fine by me. Same with the Cathys of Chik-Fil-A, who all but invented the fast food chicken sandwich. Their stores are spotless and they have some of the best employees in the business. They lead the list in their industry.

Performance matters. I’d sure like to see some from the DeVoses.

Btw, I hold no ill will if anyone chooses to block my posts. I refuse to join the amen corner when things in Orlando aren’t working. We can do better.

...very eloquently stated...

that first thing you stated...yeah...that's the thing I see happening.  think about it this way too:  people bring their kids to the NBA game.  the youth love NBA games; we all do to a point.  but you always have that popularity from certain younger age groups and the community outreach that they do keeps fans interested.  How many Magic players have I met throughout the years?  Bo Outlaw; Nick Anderson; the Magic dancers... they keep the community engaged.  They make appearances at public events; 5k's, festivals, etc.

And that's fine.  but that's the pattern for fan engagement for this very purpose.

[spenser1058]

7 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

fair enough. but wasn't Hill already on IR when they signed him?  yeah, his last year with the Pistons, he hurt his ankle and that was the recurring injury that would plague him with the Magic.  I remember this.  With that injury, the Magic signed him anyway.  This was a big question mark with the fans back then- me being one of them.  

when you're a fan you make excuses for the team, no matter what the team is.  It's just a simple fact.  You can be their biggest critic, but, you also hold out hope and when you do that you make excuses ala wishful thinking.  It's just a basic concept.  When you step back from it you see it for what it really is.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE:  Florida Gators football.  EJ makes late reads and throws picks.  I like the Gators.  I hope he plays well against UCF.  A Miami fan would scout that game and aside from the G5 comparison bias, would say that he won't play well in the game.  Two perspectives; the fan says we're stuck with him so hope for the best.  The Fantasy Football fan stays clear of him when betting.

Now translate this thought process to the Magic.  Apples and oranges but the concept is the same when being critical of them.  Am I really off here?

I remember what UCF went through when the wheels fell off the O’Leary horsecart and we went 0-12. Everyone made fun of us and it was not undeserved. The difference is that we fixed it and it didn’t drag on in to its second decade. Two years later, we were undefeated. Performance matters.

[jrs2]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I remember what UCF went through when the wheels fell off the O’Leary horsecart and we went 0-12. Everyone made fun of us and it was not undeserved. The difference is that we fixed it and it didn’t drag on in to its second decade. Two years later, we were undefeated. Performance matters.

that's a very good point.  UF did it with Mullen when they saw a plateau-ing pattern and deficient recruiting that he was not able to compliment with the transfer portal.  And I think they may be doing something similar with their BB coach soon...dunno.

I can't get over them getting Hill knowing about that injury- and that was big money- articles are still posted about it.  The Hill thing...the firing of VanGundy just because Dwight wanted them too... you know on that point- a group of players doesn't get to The Finals just b/c they're good; you need an effective coach.  You need both.  VanGundy was that guy at that time.  And the fact that the admin didn't have a good gage on what Dwight was thinking to me just showed incompetence.  In fact it was infuriating.  That was when we surrendered our season tix.  we just didn't believe in the organization anymore.  I still live in Orlando and still want to see them win.  But it's like a watermelon that's rotting from the inside; on the surface, it looks healthy, but that only goes skin deep.

[AmIReal]

Magic ownership seem to approve of the plan. They extended the contracts of Weltman (Pres) and Hammond (GM) to 2026.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33036160/orlando-magic-extend-contracts-president-jeff-weltman-general-manager-john-hammond-2025-2026-season-sources-say

 

[jrs2]

21 hours ago, AmIReal said:

Magic ownership seem to approve of the plan. They extended the contracts of Weltman (Pres) and Hammond (GM) to 2026.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33036160/orlando-magic-extend-contracts-president-jeff-weltman-general-manager-john-hammond-2025-2026-season-sources-say

 

I defer...what is your take on this?

[AmIReal]

2 hours ago, jrs2 said:

I defer...what is your take on this?

My opinion... once ownership gave management the greenlight to rebuild (which should have been done 3 years ago) then this contract extension was assured. The management will now have a couple years to capitalize on their decisions. We'll see how it goes, but despite the record, I feel pretty good about the young players and the improvements they have made over the past 4-6 weeks. They will continue to lose a lot this year and be somewhat better next year, but 2023 and beyond is what they are targeting. The NBA is weird, it comes down to getting that one transcendental player. They don't have that player, yet.

[spenser1058]

Today on The Bridge, one of the topics covered by Marc Daniels and Mike Bianchi is, “Will the losing become too much for The Magic?”

https://969thegame.iheart.com/featured/beat-of-sports/content/2022-01-20-the-bridge-will-the-losing-become-too-much/

From FM96.9 The Game
 

[jrs2]

6 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Today on The Bridge, one of the topics covered by Marc Daniels and Mike Bianchi is, “Will the losing become too much for The Magic?”

https://969thegame.iheart.com/featured/beat-of-sports/content/2022-01-20-the-bridge-will-the-losing-become-too-much/

From FM96.9 The Game
 

a friend was at the game 2-3 nights ago and said there were a lot of empty seats.  The losing will become too much when they start losing season ticket holders I think.  Then they'll need more sponsors and partners.

[spenser1058]

8 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

a friend was at the game 2-3 nights ago and said there were a lot of empty seats.  The losing will become too much when they start losing season ticket holders I think.  Then they'll need more sponsors and partners.

Bring in those Amway distributors! What could be better than a quasi-pyramid scheme! Marc’s point was actually about the players. Suggs has lost more games with the Magic than in four years of college. When does that grate on good players who are accustomed to winning? And it doesn’t stop this year, either. According to reports during the coach interviews, they were talking as many as four years. Now THAT’S motivation! Of course, the DeVos’ can offer them a great business opportunity on the side!

Btw, Daniels also notes Rutgers owes so much money to the B1G even the accountants have no clue when it will be paid off. Sometimes, even the members of the powerhouse conferences can’t make it work. It also makes you wonder how AAC and even Mountain West and SunBelt teams with a mere pittance of the resources of the top leagues can often outperform them? Talk about waste.

[jrs2]

18 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Bring in those Amway distributors! What could be better than a quasi-pyramid scheme! Marc’s point was actually about the players. Suggs has lost more games with the Magic than in four years of college. When does that grate on good players who are accustomed to winning? And it doesn’t stop this year, either. According to reports during the coach interviews, they were talking as many as four years. Now THAT’S motivation! Of course, the DeVos’ can offer them a great business opportunity on the side!

Btw, Daniels also notes Rutgers owes so much money to the B1G even the accountants have no clue when it will be paid off. Sometimes, even the members of the powerhouse conferences can’t make it work. It also makes you wonder how AAC and even Mountain West and SunBelt teams with a mere pittance of the resources of the top leagues can often outperform them? Talk about waste.

it used to be that NBA players wanted to win the championship.  Now, I wonder if it's just to get the paycheck.  it's hard for me to gage.

[jgardnerucf]

Felt a wee bit like the 'ol O'rena last night. (1st half).

...A bit surprised @spenser1058isn't reposting giant cut paste links yesterday news and not utilizing normalcy of links on boards/forums. 

[spenser1058]

What I’ve noticed is our Magic fans are mostly nonexistent (you’ll notice I was the one who created the thread way back when) and only have something to say when someone notes they are the worst team in the NBA currently and have been mostly awful for a decade (both objectively truthful statements). Since they seem pleased with that performance, I’m leaving it to them. It’s much more useful to pay attention to teams that actually desire or have the competence to be successful. 

Edited January 22, 2022 by spenser1058

[jgardnerucf]

See you at the game tonight.

[jrs2]

On 1/22/2022 at 10:23 AM, spenser1058 said:

What I’ve noticed is our Magic fans are mostly nonexistent (you’ll notice I was the one who created the thread way back when) and only have something to say when someone notes they are the worst team in the NBA currently and have been mostly awful for a decade (both objectively truthful statements). Since they seem pleased with that performance, I’m leaving it to them. It’s much more useful to pay attention to teams that actually desire or have the competence to be successful. 

desire...what you said...

I fear Gator BB is devolving to the Magic standard...