Who was the worst GM in Magic History!

[PennytoShaq]

I couldn't agree more. (Shocker I know) In terms of records Henningan has the worst, but people cant go about ignoring all the variables pretending record is the only metric. Otis and Gabriel had two of the most dominant big men (Pre back issues Dwight). Otis inherited Dwight and put a bunch of shooters around him. The second he needed to get savvy with contracts he trades a core piece of our finals team. At what point Gabriel decided to low ball a once in a lifetime talent like Shaq is beyond me. Hennigan endured having to trade Dwight and landed Nik who everyone thought was a nobody, he went through one of the worst drafts in NBA history, nailed the 2014 draft, with the 2015 draft still in progress. It is super difficult to land an elite player, made even more difficult when luck doesn't fall your way. For what he's been dealt, I think he's done an admirable job so far and certainly not the worst. I think its Weisbrod hands down.

Naturally, a team that loses most of its games has players who want to play there since they want to get a paycheck and have a NBA job.

As well as the playing time that is going to yield a big contract.

Which Fournier and Vuc got and then stayed here on contracts that were less then what people expected. That is why these signings were big wins for Hennigan.

[BadMofoPimp]

Naturally, a team that loses most of its games has players who want to play there since they want to get a paycheck and have a NBA job.

As well as the playing time that is going to yield a big contract.

Which Fournier and Vuc got and then stayed here on contracts that were less then what people expected. That is why these signings were big wins for Hennigan.

Henny isn't the worst GM in Magic history!

[rusoopE]

I thought Otis was a dumpster fire of a GM. He inherited a roster with Howard and Jameer on rookie-scale deals and Turkoglu on a MLE contract. We had one of the most promising rosters in the NBA and were spending pennies on the dollar for their services. He spent and drafted recklessly and is credited for the Magic making one finals appearance when it seemed we were destined for multiple trips but for his incompetence. He stumbled onto Van Gundy after the botched hiring of Donovan, but that probably isn't his fault. His best trade was easily dumping Steve Francis on Isiah Thomas while getting Ariza in return, but screwed that when he dealt Ariza for two used puck bags (Cook and Evans). We went into that finals season without a competent backup for Jameer, and then Jameer got hurt. He traded a first round pick for Alston who was out of the NBA a year later. That same first round pick was the asset that Morey used to acquire Kyle Lowry in the same trade. In other words, we could've simply traded that first rounder for a superior player who might've kept Dwight from ever leaving Orlando. He drafted Fran Vazquez without ever even speaking to him.

Weisbrod was in charge when Howard was drafted. He traded up to take Jameer. He signed Turkoglu to the MLE (which wasn't a popular decision at the time). The Christie deal was a disaster, but the McGrady trade wasn't. How could anyone know that dealing away Mobley would irrevocably destroy Francis' career? At the time of the McGrady trade, Francis was an explosive PG in his prime and Mobley and Cato were both useful pieces. If Cato doesn't get hurt that year, who knows how history plays out.

Gabriel is still my favorite for his creativity. Aside from the Shaq teams, he was brilliant in manipulating the finances in ways that were revolutionary at the time. He built the heart and hustle team, which probably wasn't actually meant to win any games, but damn near made the playoffs. He certainly made some mistakes, but there was a brilliance about his methods that current GMs still emulate.

Pat Williams was the face of the franchise while he was here; our own personal leprechaun. He built the team from the ground up and giving Armstrong a chance was a bit of magic.

The jury is still out on Hennigan, but it isn't looking promising right now. His resume up to this point just isn't very good.

nice summary

[chosen12141]

Hockey guy drafted Dwight, Jameer, and signed Turk... It's hard to call him the worst. The TMac deal was horrible though.

Gabriel was pretty good at most things but couldn't draft outside of the lottery... Like at all.

I was Otis' #1 hater but he did sign our best coach (albeit after signing someone else who quit in a few days).

Rob will probably go down as the worst if at least one of Mario, AG or Elf do not turn into all-stars.

As of now, as much as I like most of Rob's moves, I would probably go with him for now due to lack of all-star and horrible winning percentage (even though it was planned).

Otis was behind the draft honestly. Hockey guy gets credit only because he listened to Otis and didn't screw up submitting the players names.

Great points made here, but the fact was that Hockey guy had 2 assistant GM's who provided his basketball information.

[fa2011]

I thought Otis was a dumpster fire of a GM. He inherited a roster with Howard and Jameer on rookie-scale deals and Turkoglu on a MLE contract. We had one of the most promising rosters in the NBA and were spending pennies on the dollar for their services. He spent and drafted recklessly and is credited for the Magic making one finals appearance when it seemed we were destined for multiple trips but for his incompetence. He stumbled onto Van Gundy after the botched hiring of Donovan, but that probably isn't his fault. His best trade was easily dumping Steve Francis on Isiah Thomas while getting Ariza in return, but screwed that when he dealt Ariza for two used puck bags (Cook and Evans). We went into that finals season without a competent backup for Jameer, and then Jameer got hurt. He traded a first round pick for Alston who was out of the NBA a year later. That same first round pick was the asset that Morey used to acquire Kyle Lowry in the same trade. In other words, we could've simply traded that first rounder for a superior player who might've kept Dwight from ever leaving Orlando. He drafted Fran Vazquez without ever even speaking to him.

Weisbrod was in charge when Howard was drafted. He traded up to take Jameer. He signed Turkoglu to the MLE (which wasn't a popular decision at the time). The Christie deal was a disaster, but the McGrady trade wasn't. How could anyone know that dealing away Mobley would irrevocably destroy Francis' career? At the time of the McGrady trade, Francis was an explosive PG in his prime and Mobley and Cato were both useful pieces. If Cato doesn't get hurt that year, who knows how history plays out.

Gabriel is still my favorite for his creativity. Aside from the Shaq teams, he was brilliant in manipulating the finances in ways that were revolutionary at the time. He built the heart and hustle team, which probably wasn't actually meant to win any games, but damn near made the playoffs. He certainly made some mistakes, but there was a brilliance about his methods that current GMs still emulate.

Pat Williams was the face of the franchise while he was here; our own personal leprechaun. He built the team from the ground up and giving Armstrong a chance was a bit of magic.

The jury is still out on Hennigan, but it isn't looking promising right now. His resume up to this point just isn't very good.

[thelead]

Hockey guy drafted Dwight, Jameer, and signed Turk... It's hard to call him the worst. The TMac deal was horrible though.

Gabriel was pretty good at most things but couldn't draft outside of the lottery... Like at all.

I was Otis' #1 hater but he did sign our best coach (albeit after signing someone else who quit in a few days).

Rob will probably go down as the worst if at least one of Mario, AG or Elf do not turn into all-stars.

As of now, as much as I like most of Rob's moves, I would probably go with him for now due to lack of all-star and horrible winning percentage (even though it was planned).

Otis was behind the draft honestly. Hockey guy gets credit only because he listened to Otis and didn't screw up submitting the players names.

Great points made here, but the fact was that Hockey guy had 2 assistant GM's who provided his basketball information.

While true, the GM was Weisbrod. We don't give any other assistant GM's that kind of praise. At the end of the day, the credit (and ultimately, the blame) goes to the actual GM that pulled the trigger.

If Otis gets the credit for Dwight, does he also get the blame for the TMac and Christie trades?

[shadrock]

With all the heat Hennigan has been getting in the press this off season, I think he is one our best next to John Gabriel!

But the one who takes the cake is Otis Smith, who has overpaid for Rashard Lewis and not drafting decent talent over his tenure.

Daniel Orton over Hassan Whiteside and Courtney Lee over DeAndre Jordan to name a few!

Im sick to death of people trashing Otis and the Shard deal. WE WENT TO THE FREAKING FINALS WITH SHARD! He was a vital piece to that team, and we would not have gotten him without overpaying. So annoying.

[mityamag]

Hmm... Due to our win/loss record and history of talent's acquisition I'd say the worst GM is Rob Hennigan for now..

[Jiwol]

We went into that finals season without a competent backup for Jameer, and then Jameer got hurt. He traded a first round pick for Alston who was out of the NBA a year later. That same first round pick was the asset that Morey used to acquire Kyle Lowry in the same trade. In other words, we could've simply traded that first rounder for a superior player who might've kept Dwight from ever leaving Orlando. He drafted Fran Vazquez without ever even speaking to him.

Well, if it wasn't for Alston trade, we wouldn't have made the finals. He was one of our best fighters out there during the play-offs.

[Bensational]

We've had a pretty good run with GMs. They all ultimately run their course, though, as teams eventually turn to mud.

Otis hit his head on the ceiling of his potential when Dwight and Shard weren't enough to win a title alone. Shard was good for that team, but Turk was the real X Factor, and his ascension was because of SVG, not because of any particular foresight on the GM's behalf. Otis let Turk go and brought in "fool's gold" Vince in his wake, hoping that between Vince and Jameer he'd have a playmaker that could take us places Turk couldn't. We were a strong team that season, but with Vince's window as a star player closing, the team quickly lost faith in the course they were heading.

Beyond that, Otis didn't seem capable of new ideas. He just seemed to like rehashing all his old ideas from Golden State. Foyle, Pietrus, Richardson and Arenas.

But I would put the implosion of the team on Dwight, not Otis. If Dwight had been patient and stayed the course, we could've endured a lot more success with most of that core unit.

Overall, I think this is an impossibly hard call to make. I don't think many of our GMs have particularly blown good opportunities. Otis got lucky inheriting Dwight, but unlucky that his only year with cap space only offered Rashard and Carter to pick from as stars. Hennigan, on the other hand, hasn't been lucky with the lottery (but he's done well with the picks he's had), and we haven't had any luck with big FAs either.

[ZeusIsLoose]

We went into that finals season without a competent backup for Jameer, and then Jameer got hurt. He traded a first round pick for Alston who was out of the NBA a year later. That same first round pick was the asset that Morey used to acquire Kyle Lowry in the same trade. In other words, we could've simply traded that first rounder for a superior player who might've kept Dwight from ever leaving Orlando. He drafted Fran Vazquez without ever even speaking to him.

Well, if it wasn't for Alston trade, we wouldn't have made the finals. He was one of our best fighters out there during the play-offs.

Oh no doubt Alston helped but giving up a first rounder was ridiculous. It made Otis seem desperate, which he probably was

[Orlwillbeback]

I'm sorry bro but getting Alston was necessary, first rounder or not. Stan just **** it up by playing Jameer's injured ass in the finals when he wasn't even close to 100% instead of Alston.

If he had played Alston we would have been way more competitive against the Lakers imo.

[BadMofoPimp]

With all the heat Hennigan has been getting in the press this off season, I think he is one our best next to John Gabriel!

But the one who takes the cake is Otis Smith, who has overpaid for Rashard Lewis and not drafting decent talent over his tenure.

Daniel Orton over Hassan Whiteside and Courtney Lee over DeAndre Jordan to name a few!

Im sick to death of people trashing Otis and the Shard deal. WE WENT TO THE FREAKING FINALS WITH SHARD! He was a vital piece to that team, and we would not have gotten him without overpaying. So annoying.

Without Shard, this team doesn't sniff the finals. He was the 2nd most important player on that team.

[darthcheech2000]

Weisbrod by a mile...

[Jiwol]

I'm sorry bro but getting Alston was necessary, first rounder or not. Stan just **** it up by playing Jameer's injured ass in the finals when he wasn't even close to 100% instead of Alston.

If he had played Alston we would have been way more competitive against the Lakers imo.

Yep, I was so pissed having to watch Nelson in those finals. His come back ruined the chemistry, totally unnecessary move. It may have costed us championship, really.

[Xatticus]

I'm sorry bro but getting Alston was necessary, first rounder or not. Stan just **** it up by playing Jameer's injured ass in the finals when he wasn't even close to 100% instead of Alston.

If he had played Alston we would have been way more competitive against the Lakers imo.

Sure. But acquiring Alston was only necessary because he hadn't done his job in the offseason. It was absurd to try to get through a season without a serviceable backup for Jameer. You don't score points for wasting an asset trying to fix a problem you created.

Memphis had been dangling Lowry out there as they had committed to Conley as their PG of the future. He went to Houston in the very same deal. You can't help but feel that Morey used an unwitting Otis to facilitate a deal he couldn't have otherwise made.

[Xatticus]

With all the heat Hennigan has been getting in the press this off season, I think he is one our best next to John Gabriel!

But the one who takes the cake is Otis Smith, who has overpaid for Rashard Lewis and not drafting decent talent over his tenure.

Daniel Orton over Hassan Whiteside and Courtney Lee over DeAndre Jordan to name a few!

Im sick to death of people trashing Otis and the Shard deal. WE WENT TO THE FREAKING FINALS WITH SHARD! He was a vital piece to that team, and we would not have gotten him without overpaying. So annoying.

And I'm sick to death of this sort of apologism. If we even got our money's worth out of the dollars Otis spent on Rashard, we would've made multiple trips to the finals. There is no way to rationalize a massive overpay. And for what it's worth, no one else had money to offer a contract even remotely similar to what Otis offered.

[EAS Law]

With all the heat Hennigan has been getting in the press this off season, I think he is one our best next to John Gabriel!

But the one who takes the cake is Otis Smith, who has overpaid for Rashard Lewis and not drafting decent talent over his tenure.

Daniel Orton over Hassan Whiteside and Courtney Lee over DeAndre Jordan to name a few!

Im sick to death of people trashing Otis and the Shard deal. WE WENT TO THE FREAKING FINALS WITH SHARD! He wwas a vital piece to that team, and we would not have gotten him without overpaying. So annoying.

And I'm sick to death of this sort of apologism. If we even got our money's worth out of the dollars Otis spent on Rashard, we would've made multiple trips to the finals. There is no way to rationalize a massive overpay. And for what it's worth, no one else had money to offer a contract even remotely similar to what Otis offered.

That's completely untrue. Houston was about to sign him, even sending him a personalized Rockets jersey and having TMac meet with him.

He was about to go to Houston when we upped the ante.

[PennytoShaq]

Otis was behind the draft honestly. Hockey guy gets credit only because he listened to Otis and didn't screw up submitting the players names.

Great points made here, but the fact was that Hockey guy had 2 assistant GM's who provided his basketball information.

While true, the GM was Weisbrod. We don't give any other assistant GM's that kind of praise. At the end of the day, the credit (and ultimately, the blame) goes to the actual GM that pulled the trigger.

If Otis gets the credit for Dwight, does he also get the blame for the TMac and Christie trades?

No because you have to look at the role of what Otis did. He was Director of Player Development for Orlando, which meant his main focus was the draft.

[Xatticus]

Im sick to death of people trashing Otis and the Shard deal. WE WENT TO THE FREAKING FINALS WITH SHARD! He wwas a vital piece to that team, and we would not have gotten him without overpaying. So annoying.

And I'm sick to death of this sort of apologism. If we even got our money's worth out of the dollars Otis spent on Rashard, we would've made multiple trips to the finals. There is no way to rationalize a massive overpay. And for what it's worth, no one else had money to offer a contract even remotely similar to what Otis offered.

That's completely untrue. Houston was about to sign him, even sending him a personalized Rockets jersey and having TMac meet with him.

He was about to go to Houston when we upped the ante.

Which in no way counters the point I made about the available money. Nobody else could've offered him 20 mil per year. Houston may have wanted him, but Otis bid against himself in offering that contract. He was roundly ridiculed from the moment that contract was signed.