Orlando Magic Blog

Group Blog talking about the NBA 2009 Eastern Conference Champions. Due to the amazing success of the 2009 playoff run comments are now frequently deleted to kill offensive comments, incoherence, or asininity. Comments can no longer be anonymous and require either a Blogger or OpenID account.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Magic Extend Contracts of Howard, Nelson

24 Comments:

  • At 1:32 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Keep doing the right things,and all is good,this was smart,it takes away from future negotiation's with these two getting in the way of trying to sign a max player,same thing with extending battie,and it keeps them off the market at the same time,while letting us focus on bringing in a max guy! And i know it's early,but the top three guys next summer will be,(1)Lebron,(2)Vincanity, and (3)Rashard lewis,lets start it off now,who's the best fit guys?,and not just opinion's let throw some stats out there too fella's!

     
  • At 2:03 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    It was the execution of team's option meaning that if they are dissatisfied with the players and don't exercise the option, the contract ends earlier. Otherwise it was up until 2007-08 all along. Too much hoopla by the front office for nothing. Weren't they going to extend, anyway?

     
  • At 2:16 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Matt,i was under the assumption,that rookies signed three year deals under the new CBA,with the team holding a fourth year option,is that the way it goes?clear me up if i'm incorrect,please!

     
  • At 2:42 PM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    I'm depressed.

    I've spent years making fun of the Magic for f*cking everything up. All they had to do was not f*ck up and everything would be o.k. Of course, they would f*ck up.

    [fourteen pages of f*cked up history deleted that covered in detail everything from Shaq/Penny/Armstrong/T-Mac etc. et..]

    I'm running out of things to complain about because Otis (who I called a moron on the Sentinel site earlier in the year) has not made one blunder since the start of the season.

    Going into the season I was convinced this team was permanently disabled. They couldn't have had a worse summer. I predicted they would win 30 games this year, with little or no hope for the future.

    In retrospect, I was somewhat wrong about the summer. There were no boneheaded moves like signing Juwan Howard for 6 years, or replacing Darrell Armstrong with Tye Lue. The draft brought nothing, but at least they weren't stuck paying 37 year old career losers $7 million in 2009. Keyon Dooling was signed for 2 years plus a player option at a reasonably minimum salary.

    Instead of panic, Otis deftly traded two cancers and a semi-protected draft pick for two 20 year olds and a veteran $4 million point guard. That is an outstanding recovery from the summer.

    Since the trade the Magic are 7-1 at home and 1-9 on the road. They are 7-3 in their last 10 after losing 7 of 8 following the trade.

    Next year's core group of Howard, Nelson, Darko, Arroyo & Ariza includes 3 20 year olds and averages 22.5 years old. If you believe the NBA prime is from 26 to 30 only Arroyo is in his prime. Only Ariza is not signed for next year and should come cheap.

    The second group of Hedo, Battie, Stevenson & Dooling average 27 years old. Hedo is clearly the best of this group and is signed for 4 more years. Battie will be 34 when his new contract expires. Stevenson and Dooling are entering their prime years.

    Add a young athletic SG/SF scorer plus a veteran mid-level FA SG/SF to the mix and next year we are watching a young, athletic and reasonably deep team that could win 30 at home and 15 on the road which would equate to playoffs and a minutely possible visit to the second round.

    Otis has clearly been on a roll since October.

     
  • At 3:12 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Anyway, it's great knowing we have two outstanding players who are building blocks for a solid team in the upcoming seasons.

     
  • At 4:04 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Well said werdevos... You pretty much put out what was on my mind that I just didn't have the mind or patience to lay out there. I always feel like I never agree with anyone and everything tends to be a "debate", but I'm agreeing with everything you said. I'm especially surprised with Otis Smith, like I'm sure many other people are.

     
  • At 5:56 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    How do you explain exerting no influence on a so-called coach who is out there to mess up a bright future of a core group that I agree is bound to mature and go high places?

     
  • At 6:23 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Matt,what influence would you want him to exert? How to coach,when he's not one?"exerting no influence"is your own opinion,c'mon,everyone may not agree with that statement,you dont know if thats the case,otis couldve been the one that got ariza more PT,b/c BSH surely wasnt playing him,but thats an example of how you dont know what goes on behind closed doors,none of us do,so lets stay away from the opinion's that are tried to pass off as truth,b/c the truth is we just dont know,unless you have some proof he hasnt exerted anything positive,untill then its just opinion!

     
  • At 6:45 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Big Figure, here is the link to the Magic players under contract:

    http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/orlando.htm

    Since I had seen it long time ago, it has always been that Jameer and Dwight are locked up until 2007-08 which makes either the initial contract 4 years or it could be that the initial contract is for 3 years with a 4th year extension as the team's option.

     
  • At 6:56 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Big Figure, it seems that you have so much fun opposing me. I meant when Darko is not getting enough minutes, and we all agree that he should, why isn't anybody pushing BS Hill to abide? By the way, nobody is privy to what goes on behind closed doors unless one has an insider track. Curious people make rather informed guesses based on the evidence from the outside, like what I mentioned about Darko.

     
  • At 7:16 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    I'm glad you said "it seems",b/c your incorrect,i just try to keep things in perspective,if they are truth then so be it,but the fact that my first two line's were question's shows that i was trying to see where your coming from,if darko's minutes is what influence you were speaking of then just say so,you can either answer the question's i pose or not,but dont get your feelings hurt and try to make me out as opposition,OK,preciate it!

     
  • At 7:43 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Don't get me wrong. I hardly ever feel insulted or hurt. Opposing or challenge mean the same to me and I am never insulted by being challenged.

     
  • At 8:15 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    OK matt,but you could have left that first statement off and still made your point,when you say that I have fun opposing you,or it seems or whatever,thats personal,and if thats not what you meant then you shouldnt have said something contravercial and said exactly what you meant,there's plenty of space in this forum to get your whole point across the first time,you just made it seem as if i personally challenge you and no one else,which isnt the case,to stay politically correct you could have said i like to oppose everyone,but you put a personal slant on it,and i'm saying dont do that to me,ever,you can do it to anyone else you want,but respect me,same way i do you,alright,aint nobody in here above being opposed,so when you mention it in your first line,"seem" like your feelings are hurt to me,this is a blog,opposing is what we do,you of all poeple should know that its gonna happen,so whether you think someone is having fun or not,it should never be mentioned if you want the person opposing you to think you respect them,do we understand each other?

     
  • At 8:42 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    I don't get where you got this idea of disrespect. I usually make my points in good nature and never mean malice or disrespect. On the other hand, your comments like "you don't get it" or many other assertions of absolute value stated in an abrupt manner could have been taken for insult, but I don't take them as such, b/c I know you don't mean them that way. Don't be so sensitive.

     
  • At 10:06 PM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    GM's get players and put together the roster. Coaches coach and play who they want.

    GM's assert influence over coaches by hiring and firing them. There is no evidence that Asst-GM Smith has that authority.

    Therefore, I can't hold Hill's coaching decisions against Smith and can only judge Otis by his roster moves. Those moves have been notable by lack of big mistakes that have been the trademark of this organization. Not taking Maurice Taylor or Crawford back while dumping Francis on NYK is a huge win for the Magic.

     
  • At 11:11 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Without claiming any expertise on the matter, based on my knowledge, the roles and influence of GMs and coaches differ based on their stature. There are coaches that have a lot of say in personnel movements, and on the other hand, there are GMs who put their noses into decision makings that are typically reserved for coaches. I agree with WeRDevos that Otis Smith does not seem to have any authority in influencing coaching decisions. Therefore, he would be considered a less influential GM. Additionally, Devos family likes to keep more control on decision making at micro level, thus limiting the GM's authority further.

     
  • At 12:54 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    As WeRDevos has said, it's only fair to judge Otis by the roster moves he has made, and most people would agree that since the beginning of the season, Otis has done a good job in that regard.

     
  • At 9:04 AM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    While no one here has a real handle on what pressure is being applied to B.Hill we have some evidence:

    1. According to Sentinel Augmon has been told he will not play the rest of the year. This has to be to force the play of Ariza?

    2. According to ESPN Insider notes the front office has been unhappy with Hills rotation regarding Darko, but that Darko needs a lot of work on his stamina.

    3. Someone had to have hit Pat Garrity in the knee with a lead pipe. Whose to say it wasn't Otis dressed up like Tonya Harding...

     
  • At 9:14 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    I totally agree that it is not a black or white situation but rather shades of gray. Since it happened in this season, I still reserve the right to grade Otis and BS Hill for allowing the fiasco of Steve Francis to emerge, develop and finally get to an explosive mass. It all depends on weight and credibility, of which Hill has none, and Otis has been accumulating some credit based on his trade movements.

     
  • At 9:25 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    The idea of disrespect came from the fact that you put a period at the end of your statement,which means it isnt a question,its something you beleive,(go back and read your post),which makes it an "assumption" also b/c you were incorrect and didnt take the time to ask if it was so,which is insulting,there lies the disrespect,matt lets stay away from the "assumption statement's" ok,it would have been very easy to put a question mark at the end of your sentence so i would know exactly what you were trying to get across,i would have answered the question then,but that's twice now i've asked you to give the assumption's a rest! Oh and "you dont get it" cant be taken as insult b/c the word "get" used in this text is talking about the point mike and i was trying to get across,which was strictly a basketball issue,there wasnt any assumption's to go along,just like you finished the last post with "dont be so sensitive",which is "another assumption" on your part that i was being sensitive,i was just asking for respect when you respond to me,and not start off with what you think i have fun doing,so for the second time,lets leave the assumption's alone,preciate it!

     
  • At 9:49 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    Big Figure, help me with the statement that you are referring to. I assure you and everybody else here on one thing ... I am very respectful of every body's opinions, whether I agree or not. I think we should try to reach consensus, which we do often than not, but if we were not able to do so, still the opposing views laid next to each other will give credence to the blog..

     
  • At 10:02 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Big Figure,it seems that you have so much fun opposing me. Matt,thats your statement in its exact form,doesnt sound like a question to me,sounds like your playing with words,kinda a question but ending it as a statement even though you used the word "seem",type exactly what you want to get across and things wont get misinterpreted,then we wont have any problem's,do i think your disrespectful to my opinion's "NO",but thats not the issue,the issue is that you shouldnt ever start off a statement with what you "Think" someone does do or doesnt do,b/c you could be wrong,which makes it assumption if you dont ask!

     
  • At 10:04 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    I wanted to clear one situation, as well since I am squeezed on time for the next couple of days. I believe, as mentioned in my previous posts, that the trades were good but not perfect. I give Otis a huge credit for Darko's trade which was the least obvious of the movements, in my view. At the time of the trade, based on my number crunching, I called it Darko's project. Now I think it would have taken guts to go for it. Darko is no longer a project, and yet there is plenty of upside to his game to look forward to. Having that said, I still fault Otis and BS Hill for allowing Francis's fiasco to emerge, develop until reaching a critical mass. It all comes down to credibility and weight, of which Hill has none and Otis has accumulated some credit since the trades.

     
  • At 10:12 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    OK, I get it now. I meant it in a joking manner and apologize if it came across the wrong way. I am always in a rush and not always right to the point on my writings.

     

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