We Should Retire Shaq's Jersey

[Skybox]

An argument could be made for a handful of guys, but as a relatively young and undistinguished org, ORL should be very careful not to cheapen the whole concept of "retiring jerseys" by setting a weak precedent...Maybe Nick for his being the first pick, but (regardless of whose fault) having an arena full of jerseys honoring players who disrespected the ORG would be pathetic...even if they've reconciled. Let's get some rings and not settle. That's like BOS hanging Kyrie next to Bird and Cousy...we just need our Bird and Cousy.

[Kent]

Shaq, Penny, Tmac, Dwight - it’s odd that this team couldn’t keep those guys around long term. Two of them went to the finals and still bounced shortly after. Maybe guys want to play elsewhere, or maybe they just don’t want to play in Orlando or for the Orlando Magic? It’s a strange mix of success and failure all at once from all sides.

I’m not fussed about retiring jerseys. Having a Magic HOF should be cool enough in it’s own right. More than that just feels like new robes for an old emperor.

I agree about the Hall of Fame being cool enough.

As far as the interesting history of superstars we've had, I'll add into the conversation that this franchise came into existence in 89 and a much different era than your storied organizations like the Lakers and Celtics.

The guys to have been drafted and retire or stay with an organization is a very short list in the time since. I can think of Dirk and Tim as the standouts. Steph will probably be next. Forgive me if I'm not immediately thinking of others.

But we have to be less harsh toward ourselves.

I have to give credit where credit is due and that's to the Heat. They have had great results with Riley. Granted, a lot of it came as a result of drafting Wade — which, to be fair, he, too, became disgruntled and had an ugly public exit himself. Let's not forget that.

When you consider the teams to enter the league since the expansion that started in 88, with exception of Miami, no team has had as an impressive run as Orlando and assembled the number of superstars that they have.

It's been a fun ride even without a championship to speak of. I love it.

I agree. While I've definitely been guilty of harboring resentment of players that have "burned" us there's plenty of examples of players we've traded away.

It used to disgust me when a player forced a trade but now it doesn't anymore. Now I look at it like this. It's they're job. It's they're livelihood(albeit a really good one) and it's they're legacy to leave behind. Sure there's great pride in sticking with 1 franchise Yada Yada yada...but it's really not much different than getting a job, liking what you do, but not liking who you work with or who you work for and quiting to go work elsewhere where you can be happy.

I'm free to leave the company I work for if I want. Why can't a professional athlete do the same without being hated for it. I used to hate Shaq, penny, tmac, and Dwight. Then I grew up and realized it's they're life to live and now I'm just happy that I got to have them on my team.

My hope now is we've learned from that experience and are doing everything we can to make the next great player want to stay. Vuc was pretty much in tears when we traded him. That's like the complete opposite of how this franchise has been run. Maybe Suggs or fultz or franz will be the next great player in our record books. Or maybe it's someone else. I'll be glad to be watching and being a fan still.

Really well said about likening it to anyone else wanting to change jobs. None of us have to deal with it publicly where people we don't even know have feelings about our own personal decisions. It's not an excuse for messy separations, but it helps to keep that perspective.

But you really nailed it with the Vuc observation. This franchise has learned and it shows. Neither of us are saying Vuc is the same calibur of player as Shaq, and they are completely different in personality, but it does show a positive development in our history as an organization and how we cultivate relationships with star players.