Bianchi: John Weisbrod Deserves Some Credit

[akhenaten]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/o ... umn?page=1

Interesting read. I recall many on this board thinking that drafting Dwight over Emeka and giving Hedo the full MLE were bad moves.

Bianchi implies the trade of T. Mac may have been inevitable, that Weisbrod was hired as a "hatchet man" to do the dirty work and then leave. But he doesn't come out and say the trade was orchestrated from above, instead going back to the personality conflict between Weis and Tracy. Does anyone else read it this way?

[AdamTheGreek]

I'm one of the few people who loved a lot of things JW did, including kicking Me Mac's whiny a** out of town.

[aleZ]

A decent Bianchi piece, what's the world coming to?

Weisbrod bluntly states that he was made GM for one reason -- to be the hatchet man. He claims it was always the intention of the DeVos family that his reign as GM would be short-term.

The Hedo and Howard moves were great and, if he really did it all by himself, Weisbrod deserves mad props for that. Hatchet man or not.

[Cammo101]

I'm one of the few people who loved a lot of things JW did, including kicking Me Mac's whiny a** out of town.

Agreed. He made some good moves (Booting TMac, Drafting Dwight, signing Hedo) but he also made some bad moves (The return for TMac, Mobley for Christie, trying hard to sign Foyle to that MLE instead of Hedo). Weisbrod was a smart guy, he just did not know basketball well enough. Weis did what needed to be done and I think he was brought in to be a one year hatchet man.

[JJ_Canuck]

He was doing an excellent job until he split up the "franchise" and cuttino. After Doug and his controlling wife came, the S*** hit the fan. Plus we all kno Tmac wasn't ever getting us out of the first round anyways. Tmac has had Yao who is arguably better than Superman and still no progress.

Hockey guy gets a B-
Otis, for being frugal gets a B- also

[NBlue]

He was doing an excellent job until he split up the "franchise" and cuttino.

Indeed -- if we would have only kept Steve-O and Mobley together we would certainly have had at least 3 NBA championships by now.

[mhectorgato]

Weisbrod bluntly states that he was made GM for one reason -- to be the hatchet man. He claims it was always the intention of the DeVos family that his reign as GM would be short-term.

Old news:
http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic. ... sc&start=6

[richboy]

Have to give him credit for Jameer as well.

The move I hated was what he got back for Tmac. The Phoenix deal is the one that I always think about.

He did get crazy with some of the trades. He talked about his worst move in another article I read some time ago. That his biggest regret was throwing Varejao in the Battie trade. That trade really set the organization back in talent.

[AdamTheGreek]

But getting rid of the nutcases that were Gooden and Steven f*cking Hunter far outweighed including the p*ssy flopper that is Varejao (no matter how hard working he is).

My only complaint over than Christie, was waiving Zaza.

[Bensational]

i'd still be happy to have a weapon like Tmac on the team today. considering the only thing we've got left from that trade is Arroyo, then i'd rather have kept him around and taken the chance he'd walk the following season. i couldn't see any team clearing room for him that he would've preferred over O-Town.

Weis was in a position he couldn't really screw up. #1 pick. A superstar to trade. the MLE. Gooden, Vareajo, Juwan Howard, Stevenson.

i refuse to credit a guy who ever thought you could build a winning team with Francis on it. but, with that said, his moves are certainly paying off for us now (Dwight, Hedo)

[TheGlyde]

considering the only thing we've got left from that trade is Arroyo

Well, we have Rashard Lewis, Mo Pete, Brian Cook and Arroyo, none of whom we'd have if we kept Me-Back... and thats if he didn't force us to trade Dwight...

[richi_v25]

-= original quote snipped =-



Indeed -- if we would have only kept Steve-O and Mobley together we would certainly have had at least 3 NBA championships by now.

LOL i agree, our team was pretty good even after tmac until he killed it by trading away mobley for a vag. then steves career went down in flames and FAST!! so whatever he did i don't care i only remember the horrible christie trade and getting rid of zaza and varajeo for no reason.

[aleZ]

Well, we have Rashard Lewis, Mo Pete, Brian Cook

MoEvans
(sorry but you're never wrong around here and it was too good to pass)

[lovehoops01]

Interesting quotes from Weisbrod in that column, in case people didn't read it all the way through:

"The irony is that nobody really knocked Hedo as a player back then, but the sentiment was that we paid too much for him," Weisbrod says. "I get a laugh out of that because the one thing you can say about Hedo right now is that he's certainly not overpaid."

Next paragraph is Bianchi's words but interesting anyway:
It's clear Weisbrod feels vindicated at what has transpired since his departure, although he is quick to point out he shouldn't get all the credit for the great moves, just as he shouldn't get all the blame for the bad ones. He readily admits he was out of his element as a basketball GM and leaned heavily on his assistant GMs -- Otis Smith and Dave Twardzik -- when making personnel decisions.

Still, I agree with the guy's own self-assessment that he turned into a monster. Me, I never agreed with trading Tracy. But it wasn't just the fact that he traded Tracy that enraged me. It was that if he was going to do it, there was no reason to be such a jerk about it. That guy flat out didn't understand basketball players and I don't even think he liked most of them, and I really thought it showed in how he treated a lot of the Magic players and even other people in team management. I was never angrier at the Magic than when they hired him as GM and never happier to see anyone go (even B.Hill).

[Devin 1L]

But getting rid of the nutcases that were Gooden and Steven f*cking Hunter far outweighed including the p*ssy flopper that is Varejao (no matter how hard working he is).

My only complaint over than Christie, was waiving Zaza.

He was actually just made available during the Charlotte Bobcats expansion draft. So we didn't just outright waive him, there was a relatively good chance that they didn't select him and we kept him.

Nevertheless, most of us fans were upset that Grant Hill not placed on the list instead, since it was surely a lock that they wouldn't take him, and if they did, well...thanks.

[MagicalMan]

But getting rid of the nutcases that were Gooden and Steven f*cking Hunter far outweighed including the p*ssy flopper that is Varejao (no matter how hard working he is).

My only complaint over than Christie, was waiving Zaza.

yeah protecting Grant Hill in the expansion draft, while leaving Zaza unprotected was idiotic. Like Charlotte wouldve taken Hills enormous contract. That was a dumb move.

[mhectorgato]

But getting rid of the nutcases that were Gooden and Steven f*cking Hunter far outweighed including the p*ssy flopper that is Varejao (no matter how hard working he is).

My only complaint over than Christie, was waiving Zaza.

For the issue was only looking at the trade in retrospect.

Francis and Mobley too many times only played off of each other. The 2 man game between the two froze out other players too often.

Christie coming had the rep of being a great defender, good outside shot and a good ball mover - things that we are still looking for. I don't think anyone foresaw him throwing such a hissy fit.

Didn't he have like 4 or 5 steals his first game for us? Weren't many posters excited by having such a defensive presence in the backcourt?

[mttingly2391]

This article is a big joke to me. Every time I rip Otis someone on this board is quick to point out that it was Otis who convinced Weis to take Dwight. Weis wante Emeka. So throw that out the window. The Mobley trade was rediculous. We had a pretty good team at that point and he screwed up the chemistry by trading for D. Christie. I don't buy that crap about Steve-O could grow as a player better without Mobley. Players need chemistry to get to the top and those two had it. And let's please not forget about Anderson Varejao (butchered the spelling there). We drafted him and wise gave him to Cleveland in the Battie deal because he didn't want two rookie big men on the team. C'mon. That is rediculous. I will give him credit for Jameer. Even though I can't stand Jameer and he is vastly overpaid thanks to Otis, he was a good pick at 20.

As far as the big one here..T Mac...please don't anyone call him Me Mac on this board ever again. That is a nickname thought of by the terrible Mike Bianchi. Let's not start using Bianchi terms on this board. Tracy is a terriffic player that always played hard for this franchise. He was never put with a formidable cast and he always had the disadvantage of playing with the uncertainty that was Grant Hill's health status. Yes I agree that we should have got out of the first round once with him, but if you watched him he always gave it his all on the court. Weis called him out and wanted to get rid of him just so he could say that he won't put up with whiny superstars and it is a team game. That is BS. Can you imagine if we would have held on to him and convinced him to play with Dwight. I truly believe that Weis just drove him away.

Lastly, I never could stand Weis. But I think the DeVos family actually should take the blame with him. They are a joke and always have been. Where do they get off hiring a hockey guy to run this team. They are a mediocre ownership family and I can't wait until Shaq buys this team.

[happypedro12]

I always like Weisbrod, I thought it was great when Vitale kept saying how bad it was to draft dwight, stephen A too. I hope they are eating those words. No wonder why stephen A never gives orlando love, he doesn't want to admit that he was wrong about dwight.

[craig01]

Bottom line is that Weisbrod was a hack.

He was far out of his element here. He didn't know talent, and didn't understand the culture.

Some moves worked, others didn't.

Remember, before signing Hedo, JW was giving the same long term contract to Adonal Foyle who was resigned by GS.

I wish him well, but am so glad he's been long gone.