The NBA has an unwritten rule on the separation of front office and players for the same reason the United States doesn’t negotiate with terrorists or put the Pope on the ballot. However, the Magic are breaking that rule in order to appease Dwight Howard. This will not end well.
Opting into the final year of his contract will only delay the inevitable. Howard is John Q with an eight figure annual salary. The Orlando Magic should trade Dwight Howard before he decimates their organization. The past four months has been nothing but a power play by Howard.
Howard seems to fancy himself as Bill Russell on the court and Red Auerbach as a talent evaluator.
At the dawn of the season, Howard demanded a trade and claimed that is relationship with General Manager Otis Smith had deteriorated as a result of Smith ignoring his trade requests for players such as Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson.
“These weren’t special guys, just guys I felt would be great for our team,” Howard said in December. “It wasn’t guys that would take us over the cap or anything like that. It was just guys that I felt would help us on the inside and the outside.”
Howard also appeared to have an odd affinity for playing alongside Gilbert Arenas. After the Magic used their amnesty clause to purge themselves of Gilbert Arenas’ 11 points per game and burdensome contract, Howard was very upset.
Another one of the players Howard was upset the Magic didn’t trade for was fellow preps-to-pros phenom Monta Ellis. However, Ellis is a turnstile defensively and has a quicker trigger than John Wayne on offense. Basically, he’s Gilbert Arenas with knees. Unfortunately it would mean sacrificing a ton of tradable talent which the Magic don’t have a ton of.
Giving superstars control over organizations is a bad formula. Especially when it comes to Howard, who vacillates between saing he won’t go to certan teams because he wouldn’t be the go-to-player while simultaneously wishing to play alongside a second superstar.
Ultimately, the Orlando Magic are beginning to show symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome and Howard may get his wish. After all, doesn’t it seem a little odd that he decided to re-up for another season after reports surfaced that Howard wanted to decide Otis Smith and Stan Van Gundy’s fates after the season?
When players win control in a mutiny, entire organizations are thrown into chaos. Van Gundy responded with incredulity.
“If they want to fire me, if Dwight wants to fire me – fire me. I really don’t give a damn about being fired. That doesn’t concern me in the least. … If they want to fire me to please somebody — fire me.” Van Gundy said after his Magic beat the Heat last week.
If that’s the type of dysfunction that the Magic want to plague the organization for the next 12-15 months then they’re a perfect match for the Magic. Who wouldn’t want to fire a head coach that’s taken you to the NBA Finals?
Remember when Kobe Bryant wanted to trade Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd? Mitch Kupchak ignored Bryant’s impatience and was rewarded with three consecutive Finals appearances and two more rings. Instead of being saddled with 38-year old Jason Kidd, the Lakers have a 24-year old seven-foot All-Star to carry on once Kobe’s career reaches its expiration date.
If Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor, Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas couldn’t build winning rosters after retiring what makes Howard think he can manage the salary cap, scout talent, interview a new head coach and concentrate on winning a fourth NBA championship?
If the Magic were to begin giving in to Howard’s asinine hostage demands, it would be like making Mickey Mouse CEO of Disney.
This fad of assembling as many max contracts as possible under one salary cap as possible is beginning to get out of hand. Assembling a championship roster with two superstars isn’t as easy as those happy couples on Match.com commercials make it look. Most times, teams have to sacrifice depth and gut their roster just to acquire them.
Opting into the final year of his contract changes the whole landscape for Howard. In 2013, Chris Paul and Monta Eillis, both of whom Howard has expressed interest in playing with, will be unrestricted free agents and the Magic will get to host the circus all over again.
Meanwhile Howard will continue broadcasting his intentions in addition to handicapping the Magic front office and frightening away wary free agents.
Howard doesn’t care about leaving the Magic in a better situation at the expense of his new franchise. Dwight Howard only cares about the perception. By opting into the final year of his deal just before the deadline, Howard can make more money next season than he would by leaving in free agency.
If the Magic want to fire Otis Smith then go ahead. If the Magic want to fire Stan Van Gundy, they’re making a huge mistake but go ahead and find a better head coach but don’t give Howard the pilot controls.
All he’s doing is giving Dallas an extra year to put themselves in position to pursue Howard after they sign Deron Williams this summer. Meanwhile, Howard will continue to string along the Magic organization.
