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hobojoe · 03-17-2005, 05:11 PM

From Insider, I can't post the whole thing:

Quote:

Early Thursday morning, any luster that was left on the season faded when GM John Weisbrod fired head coach Johnny Davis and assistant Ron Ekker (who was in charge of the team's defense), claiming that the team needed a "new voice and direction."

"We work in a bottom-line business," said Weisbrod. "It is our responsibility to do everything possible to create the best opportunity for success."

Davis said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the firing and felt like it was premature.

"I think it was obvious I was on a short leash," Davis told the Orlando Sentinel. "Teams go through tough stretches, and this was the first time we had gone through one. It's not like we bottomed out. It's not like we fell out of the picture and weren't going to make it.

So Davis says he was surprised by the firing and then says he thinks it was "obvious he was on a short leash"? Am I the only one who finds that completely contradictory?

[quote]John Weisbrod Many of Weisbrod's moves have backfired. Will he be the next Magic man to disappear? They sure have. Last season, the Magic finished with the worst record in the NBA.

Weisbrod, who took over the team during the 2003-04 season, went for an extreme team makeover in the summer, trading the Magic's best player, Tracy McGrady, selecting a raw high school player with the first pick in the draft and then bringing in what Weisbrod described as "sore losers" – tough, team-first players who would play a more rugged style of basketball.
[quote]

Quote:

Sources told Insider over the weekend that Davis' approach was too "soft" for Weisbrod. While Weisbrod agreed with Davis' coaching philosophy, he didn't think he commanded enough respect in the locker room. When Davis would say something to Steve Francis, for example, Francis, on more than one occasion, would just ignore it.

Davis' inability to get through to his mercurial point guard, in particular, probably did him in.

"Johnny's a great guy," one league source told Insider. "But he's better as an assistant, I think. A head coach has to find a way to get the team to do what he wants."

Weisbrod wanted someone who could be more forceful in getting his point across. While interim head coach Chris Gent should be able to raise the decibel level, can he really get through to Francis?

All good points here, it's obvious Johnny didn't command the respect of his players, particularly Francis.

Quote:

Meanwhile, the players that the Magic received in return are causing their fair share of problems.

Francis' offensive numbers have remained solid all season, but the team has grown frustrated with his defensive lapses and his irritating habit of overdribbling to the point that the offense stagnates. The Magic tried to alleviate some of those issues by moving Francis to the two and starting rookie Jameer Nelson at the point, but the experiment hasn't gone well. The Magic have dropped eight of 11 with Nelson in the starting lineup.

The tension between Davis, Weisbrod and Francis has been palpable, with sources telling Insider that it was "likely" that Weisbrod will try to trade him this summer.

It's likely Weisbrod will try to trade Steve-o this summer. Consider me a fan of that decision.

Nique21 · 03-17-2005, 05:20 PM

Sheesh, you Magic fans just LOVE John Weisbrod. The guy is a fraud and a joke. He isnt even an "NBA Guy" yet he acts like he knows everything about the buisness and the coaches. He thinks he can just criticize anyone he wants at their expense

Quit clinging to the guy just because he is the GM. You all should be rallying for this goon to be fired before he starts recieving death threats from people in Orlando for trading Francis and then he trashes Francis just to save his own butt

**Mr. Predictable** · 03-17-2005, 05:57 PM

Van Gundy does the same

**JNice** · 03-17-2005, 08:29 PM

Weisbrod is deserving of some criticism. Though I think the Tmac trade was inevitable and not sure Orlando could have gotten more for Tmac at the time. And the Mobley for Christie trade looks terrible right now, but lets wait and see if Orlando can make something out of Christie's expiring contract this summer or next season. They weren't going to re-sign Mobley anyway and this team wasn't going to win a ring this year anyway, so in the end, it makes little difference.

The two biggest mistakes I think Weisbrod has made are letting Zaza Pachulia go for nothing in the expansion draft and trading Anderson Varejao when he probably could have made the trade without Varejao included. And even though statistically Gooden is killing Battie, I think Battie still suits this team better than Gooden would have.

And as far as firing Davis ... Davis deserved it, point blank. The team can't fire Francis, so something had to be done. Davis probably would have been let go after the season anyway. The timing sucks, but something had to be done after losing 6 straight trying to fight for a playoff spot.

Gambino · 03-18-2005, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Roger's Cardigan

Van Gundy does the same

Tmac is now doing the same lol

TManiAC · 03-31-2005, 11:24 AM

PG: Jameer Nelson | Tyronn Lue | Reece Gaines
SG: TMac | Deshawn Stevenson
SF: Grant Hill | Hedo Turkoglu | Stacey Augmon
PF: Drew Gooden | Anderson Varejo | Pat Garrity
CN: Emeka Okafor | Andrew DeClerq

and its concievable to think that Juwan Howard could have been traded for either Eric Snow or Kelvin Cato. I think the Orlando FO is full of ****. Theyve made disappointing moves for so long and place too little blame on their GMs. I lost all faith in Orlando. Fired Doc but stuck with Johnny "Moral Victory" Davis? Gabriel "demotes" himself? They bring in Weisbrod and expect him to make a legitimate GM? How many times has DeVos promised to let Orlando go over the lux cap to make a run at the ECF but pulled his approval when it mattered? Theyre a bunch of idiots IMO.

Idunkonyou · 03-31-2005, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TManiAC

PG: Jameer Nelson | Tyronn Lue | Reece Gaines
SG: TMac | Deshawn Stevenson
SF: Grant Hill | Hedo Turkoglu | Stacey Augmon
PF: Drew Gooden | Anderson Varejo | Pat Garrity
CN: Emeka Okafor | Andrew DeClerq

and its concievable to think that Juwan Howard could have been traded for either Eric Snow or Kelvin Cato. I think the Orlando FO is full of ****. Theyve made disappointing moves for so long and place too little blame on their GMs. I lost all faith in Orlando. Fired Doc but stuck with Johnny "Moral Victory" Davis? Gabriel "demotes" himself? They bring in Weisbrod and expect him to make a legitimate GM? How many times has DeVos promised to let Orlando go over the lux cap to make a run at the ECF but pulled his approval when it mattered? Theyre a bunch of idiots IMO.

You can't blame Devos. Orlando has the 7th highest payroll in the NBA - http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/orlando.htm

I think what Orlando is missing mostly is a real head coach.

By the way, no one in there right mind would pick Okafor over Howard now.

TManiAC · 03-31-2005, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idunkonyou

You can't blame Devos. Orlando has the 7th highest payroll in the NBA - http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/orlando.htm

I think what Orlando is missing mostly is a real head coach.

By the way, no one in there right mind would pick Okafor over Howard now.

Sure I can blame DeVos. Rockets were 20th in team salary in 2003-2004 @ $50 Mill. I didnt think Rod Strickland, Monty Williams, Robert Archibald and Britton Johnsen were what DeVos meant by going over the luxury cap. Fact is, Orlando FO didnt do enough to get the winning pieces around TMac, including the right GM, the right Coach, and of course the right players (they werent that far either... Magic played great against Detroit). Just imagine with that team and say Fratello as coach, the Magic would be serious contenders.

Oh btw, Maybe for a rebuilding team, Dwight Howard could be the better choice. But IMO, if they would have kept McGrady, Okafor would have been ideal. I do respect and appreciate what Dwight Howard does, hes is extremely gifted.. no knock on his game. But Yeah, take everything I say with a grain of salt, Im a very disgruntled former-magic fan.

Babir · 03-31-2005, 08:23 PM

I just don't understand this "former-magic fan" thing...TRUE fans are always staying with their teams...

TManiAC · 03-31-2005, 11:55 PM

You might be a "true fan" because you have a thing for Orlando. I watch basketball for entertainment... and great players are very entertaining. When a team seems to lose all their great players, I lost interest in the team. Why do you like the Magic organization so much? They take your money regardless of whether they win or lose... Its the players like Francis and McGrady that are suiting up and playing 48 minutes per outing for you to get your kicks and giggles.

I dont like Orlandos management anymore, I dont like their coach, and I dont like many players on their team. What's there to be loyal for?

Babir · 04-01-2005, 12:29 AM

"True fans" are not watching basketball only for entertainment and they also understand that not only great players are "entertaining"

So, since, as you saying "I lost interest in the team" which team you support now? The thing is that almost every team is trading or losing their players...Lakers traded Shaq, Kings traded C-Webb, Raptors traded Vince...Nets lost Martin, Jazz lost Boozer, Raptors lost T-Mac and etc...So very soon you ll lose interest to the whole NBA

TManiAC · 04-01-2005, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Babir

"True fans" are not watching basketball only for entertainment and they also understand that not only great players are "entertaining"

So, since, as you saying "I lost interest in the team" which team you support now? The thing is that almost every team is trading or losing their players...Lakers traded Shaq, Kings traded C-Webb, Raptors traded Vince...Nets lost Martin, Jazz lost Boozer, Raptors lost T-Mac and etc...So very soon you ll lose interest to the whole NBA

Im glad you feel youre the over-riding authority on the topic of fanaticism. I dont think there should be rules on how to be a fan. And if it makes you feel any better about yourself, fine, call yourself a "True Orlando Fan" whatever that may mean.

Im a fan of certain players... I dont have a team banner on my wall, I have Slam Ups and covers of TMac, Allen Iverson, KG, Kobe, Steve Francis, MJ, etc. I wake up every morning to a fresh cup of coffee and the latest news from every NBA rumorwire on the web. I dont appreciate the drunk rednecks rooting for Steve Blake at the MCI center only because he played college ball at Maryland, when they dont know anything about Larry Hughes, Arenas, or Antawn Jamison. They hiss at me for wearing my TMac jersey to the MCI center and are too ignorant to realize how talented of a player he is because they're "true fans." Would you call me any less of a fan than they are?

Im a fan of many teams, Phoenix as a team.. Miami as a team... San Antonio as a team... the Rockets as a team. So in that respect, I think I am a fan of the NBA moreso than you are, because in your own words, you are a "True Orlando Fan." I appreciate more what a player has done than what an organization has done to put a sloppy team together. We just choose loyalties for different reasons. Why do you love Orlando so much anyway? You never answered that. Are you from Orlando.. or is it Azerbaijan? How many home games have you gone to, to support your team? You like Orlando because your family likes Orlando? Or do you originally start following Orlando because of a favorite player, perhaps Penny or Shaq? So tell me again, what exactly does TRUE FAN mean?

Maybe you didnt understand what "former Orlando fan" meant because you were too busy being arrogant and ignorant. People like you dont make me feel like any less of a fan and certainly dont make me feel guilty about disliking Weisbrod and Co.

Idunkonyou · 04-01-2005, 05:01 PM

I think JW has made some great moves, questionable moves and bad moves. At least he is better than Gabe who did nothing but make bad moves.

I think JW will make some more good moves this offseason. He has the MLE, 4 picks and some trade options.

Either way you look at it, this year has been an improvement over last year.

Babir · 04-01-2005, 08:33 PM

TManiAC, great post

...But I am not trying to tell you that Weisbrod is a great guy...What is "true fan" for me, was described, so there is no need to explain you one more time, but....

Quote:

Are you from Orlando.. or is it Azerbaijan? How many home games have you gone to, to support your team? You like Orlando because your family likes Orlando? Or do you originally start following Orlando because of a favorite player, perhaps Penny or Shaq? So tell me again, what exactly does TRUE FAN mean?

Yes, I am from Azerbaijan, probably you don't even know where is that but there is 9-10 hours difference with States, and I am waiking up every morning to watch the games or follow them by livestats...I am Magic fan since Shaq was drafted and yes I was very upset when we lost him, when Penny was i

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