Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XXVI: Offseason Edition)

[MagicFan41]

Is it just me or is anybody else kinda perturbed by how stretched out this GM process has been? It sounded like the organization and Shaw both wanted to link up with either other at the coaching position, but there is a very high likelihood that Shaw may be offered the Bobcats job in the coming days. Does this mean we really don't care that much about Shaw? Is this just another example of the Magic brass dragging their feet when things need to be taken care of? I mean what exactly is the long wait for?....how long can like 5 interviews take and a decision to be made?

[MagicTownBaller]

Monday is exactly 10 days before the draft. That's when we will know who we're hiring.

[CourtsideTV]

lol so our GM has 10 days to figure out who to draft

[BadMofoPimp]

lol so our GM has 10 days to figure out who to draft

Anyways, Foyle has been handling player analysis for a year now. Thus, this is a moot point. Especially, being these GM's have been investigating and following the Combine on their own as it pertains to their current job or potential job. This is what they do for fun.

[SEBAS-07]

This is off-topic but I will ask. Shaq was signing with the Lakers, It didn't matter if we offered the same salary his heart and head were in Los Angeles, right?

[CourtsideTV]

we low balled shaq..and then he left..he was leaving either way but we should've just told him we will pay him whatever he wants.

[The Real Dalic]

I hope we hire our GM tonight. . . It's Friday already, this is the day some of us expect to hear about a hiring. I really hope I'm not wrong.

[Def Swami]

For those of you complaining about being a Magic fan and saying how terrible this organization is and having this "woe is me" attitude, I don't think you realize how bad a lot of othe fan bases have it.

When was the last time Golden State was good? When was the last time Minnesota was good? When was the last time Milwaukee was good? When was the last time Charlotte was good? When was the last time the Wizards were good?

These fan bases have gone LIFETIMES without being championship contenders, without having a superstar, without having any hope whatsoever. These fan bases go into every single season realizing that the best their team can do is finish as the 10th seed in their conference.

We've had it pretty good as a fanbase for a mid-to-small market team. We've had a lot more success over the years than most other teams that are in the same kind of market we are in. I give Mr. Devos a lot of credit for the success he has had with this organization.

+1
I agree, those teams never reaped the rewards of sucking to land a horse that they could build around. We're not a bottom-feeding franchise. But we haven't conducted ourselves at the level of the Celtics, Spurs, Lakers, or Mavs. When you have a guy like Dwight, you have to have a team on the floor every year where you're thinking Conference Finals or Finals and I don't think the Magic have done a good job of putting that together. The way we approach the draft and scouting isn't the best and the trades we've made aren't the kind of trades a team looking for a championship would make.

I found it interesting when Kobe in his post-game press conference after getting bounced the Thunder said something along the lines of "I'm not worried. We'll re-tool next year and be back. We'll make some trades. We always do." There are certain franchises that over the duration of having a good player can always be seen as a threat to make the Finals. The Spurs are another example. I just want the Magic to make that step and it starts in the front office.

I'm hopeful that the Magic can change their ways with these hires. But reading that Bower could potentially be the new GM doesn't sit well with me.

[trebone]

I hope we hire our GM tonight. . . It's Friday already, this is the day some of us expect to hear about a hiring. I really hope I'm not wrong.

Same day wrong week

[mhectorgato]

For those of you complaining about being a Magic fan and saying how terrible this organization is and having this "woe is me" attitude, I don't think you realize how bad a lot of othe fan bases have it.

When was the last time Golden State was good? When was the last time Minnesota was good? When was the last time Milwaukee was good? When was the last time Charlotte was good? When was the last time the Wizards were good?

These fan bases have gone LIFETIMES without being championship contenders, without having a superstar, without having any hope whatsoever. These fan bases go into every single season realizing that the best their team can do is finish as the 10th seed in their conference.

We've had it pretty good as a fanbase for a mid-to-small market team. We've had a lot more success over the years than most other teams that are in the same kind of market we are in. I give Mr. Devos a lot of credit for the success he has had with this organization.

Word

[Def Swami]

And how were we supposed to do anything since he waived his ETO? You do realize that was at the trade deadline, right? You do realize the draft hasn't come, and free agency has not started? And you do realize that it's next offseason that we really can do some damage and surround Dwight with fellow All-Stars, yes?

I never disputed anything that has happened since Dwight waived his ETO, besides Stan going rogue, which no one had control over.

And I like to think that I'm deluded in my baseless hope and bias as a fan of the team when I think that Dwight will stay. The Nets losing out on the lottery definitely helped us, but it's going to be tough to sell Dwight on having a mediocre year in 2012-2013 to wait for possibly having a contender in 2013-2014. The past 2 years of front office moves don't really instill a lot of trust in the front office to make the right moves, but it's in the past. In order to rebuild that trust, front office is going to have to make moves that point us in the right direction this offseason and until Dwight sees that, he won't re-sign. I don't know whether he'll stay or go, but from my outsider's perspective, I have a tough time finding a reason that he stays.

Back to the speculation....

Brian K. Schmitz ‏@MagicInsider
Next Magic GM -- it's likely either Jeff Bower or Dennis Lindsey --- must hit ground running. Biggest job: Trading Dwight. He wants out.

[J the Drafter]

*Snip*

I'd say the difference between our franchise and the Lakers and Celtics is that we didn't have nepotism on our side. We have no former players in front office positions who will give us an All-Star for free. Otis and the DeVos had to build through drafting and FA signings. Considering that this team wound up losing out to the two teams that did their building with the help of Jerry West and Kevin McHale donating them players, you can only blame management for so much. As for the Phoenix trade, I'd say Otis's mistake was in refusing to concede that the team was simply done contending for the present, and going for a gamble on a quick fix instead of preparing the team to get better in a couple of years from 2011. Considering the excitement many people felt right after the trades, Otis evidently wasn't alone in his misguided beliefs. Obviously, a professional GM should know better than a team's fanbase, but a lot of people seem to have started bashing Otis only when it became evident that his gamble had failed.

[pogiro]

It seems like the point most doomsayers are trying to make is that the Magic have had a successful overall history DESPITE most of the FO decisions, not because of it...

Even the well thought out plans (like Gabriel's housecleaning resulting in the heart & hustle team), seemed to end badly (Duncan turning the Magic Down... Grant Hill signing... THE MAN WAS ON CRUTCHES!!!!!!)

Even the most important positive personnel move that happened with this team seemed to have happened by luck or accident (ping pong balls, Billy Donovan reversing his decision, or Eddie Jones getting signed by the Heat and having T-Mac fall in our laps).

Overall it seems like ANY new blood & the unknown (like Lindsey/Shaw) is preferable over decisions that seem to favor the status quo (like Bower).

All I know is that since the PHX trade... I've personally 'lost that loving feeling' for the current incarnation of the Magic... I just want it back...

This I can agree with more. I even see what you are saying about accidents that turn out nicely. But that happens all around the league. I mean, we got T-Mac and yes, after Eddie Jones rejected us... but damn, we had Grant Hill's contract too. Good luck and bad luck. But all in all, we have not been as bad as most other franchises. I'd say there's the top tier with the Spurs, the Lakers, the Celtics... then there's a big group of 2nd tier, and we're right in there.

Just gotta find a way to break through, hopefully by surrounding Dwight with a supporting cast that can bump us to perennial contenders for the remainder of his career, or we'll have to rebuild and try to get back here again. But it's the fact that the Magic repeatedly find their way back to being a factor in the NBA that makes the "woe is me" mentality so ridiculous. Even in the Tmac era, with Grant Hill killing our cap, we managed to get a #1 seed in the east, of course only to be ousted in the first round by the Pistons. But like someone else pointed out, there's so many franchises who have not been a factor at all for decades. The Magic are only a few decades old and I have Shaq-Penny's, Tmac's, and Dwight's years and see them as decently successful.

And who doesn't hate the Phoenix trade? I hate it as much as anyone you can find. It is the one trade that I look at and knew Otis had to go. And look, he's gone. So why people think that these sort of decisions are somehow a franchise tendency, I don't understand.

[pogiro]

Back to the speculation....

Brian K. Schmitz ‏@MagicInsider
Next Magic GM -- it's likely either Jeff Bower or Dennis Lindsey --- must hit ground running. Biggest job: Trading Dwight. He wants out.

I wonder if Schmitz actually believes he is a credible "reporter".

[J the Drafter]

+1
I agree, those teams never reaped the rewards of sucking to land a horse that they could build around. We're not a bottom-feeding franchise. But we haven't conducted ourselves at the level of the Celtics, Spurs, Lakers, or Mavs. When you have a guy like Dwight, you have to have a team on the floor every year where you're thinking Conference Finals or Finals and I don't think the Magic have done a good job of putting that together. The way we approach the draft and scouting isn't the best and the trades we've made aren't the kind of trades a team looking for a championship would make.

The Celtics had McHale giving them Garnett. The Spurs had Robinson, Duncan, and great finds in Parker and Ginobilli. The Lakers had West giving them Pau. The Mavs suffered through three years of mediocrity after getting ousted by the Warriors a year after their first Finals appearance, and they got swept this playoffs.

[magicman112]

we low balled shaq..and then he left..he was leaving either way but we should've just told him we will pay him whatever he wants.

We were set up by his agent to low ball him. And in fact he signed for less in LA then he could have gotten here. His agent was the driving force behind getting him to LA. Shaq was Armato's meal ticket to the A list he was hoping. Remember how his agent ended up in commercials with him and music videos? And not too long after he got to LA he fired him.

[SEBAS-07]

We should completely revamp or scouting department. Dave Twardzik was the guy who advocated Fran Vasquez, right? That is fire-worthy in my opinion. I have in mind Tony Ronzone for international scouting.

[BringPennyBack]

Do we try to bring in Jamal Crawford if Jameer opts out?

[Def Swami]

Larry Ridley ‏@mrlarryridley
Was just told by a source Dwight Howard will have his camp at UCF next month, Aug "100%" hope to have date by next week #Orlando #Magic #UCF

[Def Swami]

+1
I agree, those teams never reaped the rewards of sucking to land a horse that they could build around. We're not a bottom-feeding franchise. But we haven't conducted ourselves at the level of the Celtics, Spurs, Lakers, or Mavs. When you have a guy like Dwight, you have to have a team on the floor every year where you're thinking Conference Finals or Finals and I don't think the Magic have done a good job of putting that together. The way we approach the draft and scouting isn't the best and the trades we've made aren't the kind of trades a team looking for a championship would make.

The Celtics had McHale giving them Garnett. The Spurs had Robinson, Duncan, and great finds in Parker and Ginobilli. The Lakers had West giving them Pau. The Mavs suffered through three years of mediocrity after getting ousted by the Warriors a year after their first Finals appearance, and they got swept this playoffs.

The C's had a championship culture in the 80's and early 90's. And they had competitive teams with Pierce and Walker. And yes, they were gifted KG, but they also collected their assets wisely to give themselves a chance to get both KG and Allen. I don't like our lack of them. It has tied our hands behind our backs until 2013.

The Spurs are the model organization I want us to be. They had great big men as a cornerstone of their franchise like we do, but they invested in scouting and took the draft seriously to build around their franchise players. I don't believe we've done a very good job of that and it will take a new GM and front office to change that.

The Mavs did have mediocre years, as did the Spurs, Lakers, and Celtics, but they always left wiggle room to re-tool their roster and give themselves a chance to make changes. My biggest issue with us has been handcuffing ourselves. We really have had little room for improvement over the past 2-3 years, due to Lewis's big contract, bad trades, and other bad signings. It's tough to believe in an immediate future when you can't make amends.

Can't argue with the Gasol trade. Lakers were got him with a bow on his head. But when they got Shaq, they didn't waste time and built a great team around him and Kobe.

Guys, I don't expect to have a perfect franchise. None are. But I expect a little more than what we've gotten thus far. I just want to see a better commitment to the draft and scouting, someone in the front office that can make basketball and money wise trades that benefit the future of the team, I want to see us sign players with better character than that exuded by Duhon, players who are hell bent on winning, and I want to see some more athleticism.