The Regime Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 The Magic have lost some good players in the last couple decades (Shaq, Penny, T-Mac, and now Dwight). What is about the city of Orlando or the Magic front office that has led to poor retention in regards to their stars? Does the blame strictly fall on one thing or is it a combination of both? I honestly can't think of another franchise that has done such a poor job holding on to their franchise players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lkr Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 What's the deal with ovaltine? The mug is round. The jar is round. They should call it roundtine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Shaq- Wanted to play in LA. Penny- Broken knees. McGrady- Ran out of town by the GM/wanted to go to better team. Howard- Wanted to play in bigger market with (at least) a 2nd superstar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted July 26, 2012 Owner Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 For both McGrady and Howard, I'd shift the blame over to the front office. I realize the Magic put together a team that reached the Finals in 2009, but once that happened, they never really did anything to improve, and they felt Howard was going to continue to carry them without getting over that hump. People said the same about Cleveland and LeBron, too. Shaq is different, though. I felt like he never gave Orlando the chance. He had dollar signs for pupils the day he started playing over at LSU, and he knew where to go to make the best of his career, money-wise. I mean...with McGrady, he lasted 4-5 seasons in Orlando, after Toronto dealt him for Fran (lol), but that team was absolutely horrible. Dwight has been there since 2004. As noted by Nitro, Penny's career was basically over before he even thought about leaving Orlando. But Shaq? He gave them four years, reached the Finals and was swept, got to the ECF's and was swept by the Bulls, and then he bailed, despite having an all-star teammate in Penny (and Hardaway was a four-time all-star before his big injury, twice before Shaq's departure). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 I realize the Magic put together a team that reached the Finals in 2009, but once that happened, they never really did anything to improve, I actually think they did improve the season after. Remember, they swept the first 2 rounds in 2010, and the Hawks series they historically destroyed them. However, they ran into a Celtic team that was on a serious roll. They beat the Celtics the previous year, but that was in 7 games without KG. Definitely didn't make the improvements to win a championship, though, and the horrible contracts they latched onto handicapped them. I mean...with McGrady, he lasted 4-5 seasons in Orlando, after Toronto dealt him for Fran (lol), but that team was absolutely horrible. And as I said in my first post, he was literally ran out of town by a GM who would constantly trash him in the media and behind the scenes. T-Mac's personality didn't help things, but I think T-Mac wanted to stay deep down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterx Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 dont remember the exact words but in shaqs book he said his relationship with the magic started to crumble when he took time off to mourn his grandmothers death. she was one of the most important people in his life so it was real personal and real serious. and one day head coach brian hill told reporters "i dont know where he is, go find him" and acted like he didnt know what was goin on in shaqs life. teammates and front office didnt stick up for him he also looked at alonzo mourning as his competition [they were drafted right next to each other], and zo signed a contract worth 110 million. so the bar was set and thinking he was the better player [which he is] , shaq asked for 115 million but all the magic pitched him was 7 years at 70 million [somethin like that]. he then found out that the front office didnt wanna pay him more than penny. supposedly it was gonna be his team because "its a guard's league now". jerry west over at the lakers traded a couple guys for cap relief and offered shaq 120 mill and the rest is history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMEWLS Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 I blame serious unluckiness. I guess you can't control a players wants. But seriously the Magic have been unlucky when it comes to superstars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YugoRocketsFan Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 The Magic GMs are all Laker fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMEWLS Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Seems that way, it'll only be fitting if our next great leaves for the Lakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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