Posts Tagged → Stan Van Gundy
A Common Enemy for the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Via George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel:
The Miami Heat have been disparaged as a bunch of privileged prima-donnas, intent on destroying the spirit of fair play in professional sports.
LeBron, D-Wade , Chris Bosh and their gophers will break all NBA records, glom onto our TV screens every night, celebrate titles with bikini babes on South Beach. They are the alpha dogs. We are the fire hydrants. The forecast calls for constant drizzle.
Doc Rivers doesn’t see it that way. [...]
He laughs at all the swipes and the slights, and the suggestions that the Heat are ruining the game. What’s the problem? Doc embraces the Axis of Evil (my words, not his) as astute businessmen.
“If you were a businessman who could buy two other companies to form what would be a dominant company, what businessman wouldn’t do that?” he said. “That’s what LeBron did. I have no problem with that. It just makes it more challenging for us, the [Orlando] Magic and everybody else.
“It’s puts a bull’s eye on them. Well, everybody wants to beat the Celtics, too. You want the pressure, You don’t want to run from it.”
Good for Doc.
No whining, no complaints, no whispers of collusion. It would be good for everybody else to follow his lead.
The backlash against the Miami Heat has gotten a little out of hand, but it is what it is.
One thing is for certain — the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics aren’t going to bow down to the Heat. Just ask Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo. Yes, Miami has the potential to be a very good team next season. But the Magic and the Celtics are the last two Eastern Conference champions and they will give the Heat a run for their money, make no mistake about it.
There’s a great chance that Miami will finish the regular season with the best record in the East but as Orlando and Boston has proven the last two years, the only thing that matters is the playoffs. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing that head coach Doc Rivers embraces the challenge. Likewise with head coach Stan Van Gundy. That’s why they are two of the best coaches in the NBA for a reason.
Van Gundy and Rivers rise to the occasion when an obstacle is in front of them.
In this case, it’s the Heat.
The great thing about the 2010-2011 NBA regular season schedule is that fans are going to have the opportunity to see how the Celtics (sans Kendrick Perkins) and the Magic stack up against the SuperFriends in the opening week — in a span of three days.
That’s going to be exciting.
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Orlando Magic players and coaches had better get their rest now, because NBA schedule makers gave the team a daunting dose of back-to-back games during the 2010-11 regular season. The Magic will play 20 pairs of back-to-backs, including 12 pairs in which Orlando will host the first game and then hit the road immediately for the second. Those 12 away-to-home back-to-backs are a record for the Stan Van Gundy era. The Magic never had more than six “fly-out” games in any of Van Gundy’s three previous seasons as Orlando’s coach. The NBA released its full regular-season schedule this afternoon. [...] The Magic will open their season — and play their first regular-season game at Amway Center — on Oct. 28, when they host the Washington Wizards at 8 p.m. One night later in Miami, Orlando will play its first regular-season game against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the new-look Miami Heat.”
- The top five Orlando Magic games to watch in the 2010-2011 regular season.
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy: “Look, the schedule is the schedule. It’s something I never really worry about a lot. It’s going to come out to 41 at home and 41 away. Some people are going to have some more back-to-backs than others. It’s just not something I spend any time worrying about.”
- The Magic have some tough back-to-backs on their schedule.
- Royce Young of CBSSports.com states that Orlando has one of the easiest starts to the season: “The NBA hands a gift to the Magic who get to open a new arena with a batch of home games. It gets tougher for the Magic later down the line, but to start the season, Orlando gets 8 of its first 12 at home, with most of the tough games coming into the new Amway Center. The drawback is a couple back-to-backs but no set is against two contending teams.”
- Are you ready for the Sunshine Massacre?
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “The Magic got off easy, relatively speaking, with their road trips, which max out at five games on two separate occasions, as the release mentions. But facing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 13th, just one day after a visit to New Orleans Arena, is brutal. Worse, having to play the Lakers on March 14th one day after a game against the uptempo Phoenix Suns. And, of course, opening the season with three straight back-to-back sets isn’t appealing.”
- Zach Harper of TrueHoop conducts an exhaustive evaluation of the NBA calendar year.
- Jordan Schultz of NBA FanHouse tells you the matchups you need to know.
- Eric Woodyard of SLAM ONLINE: “In the ‘02-03 season, T-Mac became the NBA’s youngest scoring champion, averaging 32.1 buckets per game. He was also considered by many as the League’s best all-around player. Then he delivered a Jordan-esque individual performance against the Pistons in the ‘03 Playoffs dropping 31.7 points per game. Despite McGrady’s amazing antics, the Magic still failed to reach the second round of the Playoffs. Even after taking a commanding 3-1 series lead as the eighth seed against the number one seed. After McGrady’s comments prior to Game 5 in which he was quoted as saying how wonderful it was to “finally be in the position to advance to the second round,” he and his troops lost Games 5, 6 and 7 by an average of more than 20 points. Detroit would advance to the next round.”
- Quinn Peterson of SLAM ONLINE catches up with Quentin Richardson, one of the newest members of the Magic. Here’s a snippet of what Q has to say: “I’m excited. It’s a great situation on a team that has a chance to contend for a title, it’s gonna be a whole lot of hard work, but I think we’re definitely ready for it. I’m leaving here Friday (August 6) to head to Miami so I can drive up to Orlando to get started working with the coaching staff. I’ll spend the rest of my summer in Orlando working toward the goal. Also, Jameer [Nelson], he has a thing out in Philly, where he invites all of the guys out on the team, no coaches, and we work out everyday. Has has different events set up for us to hang out and bond and get close. Those are some of the things you need to do if you wanna be a championship-caliber team. I’m really excited that they already have these types of things in place, and I’m just going to that situation trying to contribute.”
- A Q/A with Mickael Pietrus.
- What can Vince Carter do for Orlando at this stage in his career?
For the Orlando Magic, It’s a Wait-and-See Approach
Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Via Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel:
The [Orlando] Magic have absolutely no shot at competing with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat.
And neither does anybody else (except maybe the Lakers).
That’s not me talking; that’s Jeff Van Gundy, brother of Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. [...]
“They (Heat) will break the single-season win record [of 72],” Jeff Van Gundy told the Herald. “And I think they have a legit shot at the Lakers’ 33-game [winning] streak [in 1971-72], as well. And only the Lakers have even a remote shot at beating them in a playoff series. They will never lose two games in a row this year.”
It’s easy to proclaim Jeff Van Gundy’s statements as crazy but when looking past some of his statements, he could be potentially correct that the Orlando Magic have little to no shot competing against the Miami Heat. This isn’t to suggest that the Heat will be invincible, given that they haven’t stepped on the court together yet and no one knows what will happen until the games are played, but many smart people project them to be a very good team next season.
Historically good? It’s way too early to tell.
One way or the other, the Magic will have their work cut out for them next year in the Eastern Conference — not only against the Heat but also against the Boston Celtics. That’s the reality of the situation. Nevertheless, people will get an early glimpse at how Orlando will stack up against Miami when they face off against each other on October 29 at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Then maybe everyone can start putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
Only three months to go.
Thursday’s Magic Word
- George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: “There were about 50 foster kids in the auditorium Wednesday afternoon. David Vaughn’s story did not resonate with all of them, but hopefully a handful of faces in the crowd heard every word, and found strength in his journey sprinkled with desperation and determination. Vaughn told them about his highs as a first-round draft pick of the Orlando Magic in 1995, the $1.8 million contract, the cars and all the other extravagant toys; his lows of depression and violence, and how he ended up as a wayward husband, homeless and destitute. ”It’s a great experience to share my story,” Vaughn said. David Vaughn’s comeback likely won’t be documented in Sports Illustrated or ESPN, but it is worth telling because it reflects a tenacity not often seen on the competitive fields of play.”
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “Nobody is going to be better than the Miami Heat at the two, three and four spots. But picture them playing Orlando. Jameer Nelson has the ball (guarded by Mario Chalmers) and Dwight Howard (covered by Joel Anthony) comes out to set the high pick. That is a hard-to-stop P&R combo for any team, and the undersized Anthony is really going to struggle to stop the strength of Howard rolling to the rim. LeBron, Wade and Bosh are going to have a hard time helping out because you can’t leave Orlando’s perimeter shooters (especially when J.J. Redick is in for Vince Carter). Can Orlando beat Miami this way? Can some combination of the O’Neals (Shaquille and Jermaine) along with Kendrick Perkins (when he returns from injury) do the same thing for Boston? Is there a model for beating the Heat?”
- Chad Ford and John Hollinger of ESPN Insider update their NBA Future Power Rankings. The Magic fall from No. 3 last year to No. 7 this year: “We liked Orlando’s roster the best in March, but now the Magic don’t even have the best roster in Florida. Plus, we’re focused down the line, past this coming season, and that hurts the outlook for four of the five Magic starters. Nonetheless, this team looks stacked for the long term with Dwight Howard at center and a constellation of minor stars surrounding him. Additionally, keep an eye on young forward Ryan Anderson, who could become a better version of Troy Murphy. Orlando’s market looms as another big factor in its favor. With a new arena, a balmy climate and a dominant big man, it’s already near the top of Chris Paul’s short list of future destinations and could pop up on other players’ lists, too. The only major concern is the serious money the team is taking on. Orlando is a small market, but the team is well into the luxury tax and probably will remain that way for a while unless ownership demands a budget slashing. For now, it hasn’t, and with that, solid personnel moves under GM Otis Smith and the exacting coaching of Stan Van Gundy, the Magic get good marks for management.”
- Dwight Howard is one of the best bargains in the league.
- Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game drops some knowledge: “To those still clinging to what they know, I’d ask this: what’s a power forward? What characteristics link Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Rashard Lewis, Lamar Odom, Reggie Evans, Tyrus Thomas, and J.J. Hickson? Not rebounding. Not scoring. Not skill set. Not height relative to their teammates. Not even the spaces they occupy on the floor. I’m at a total loss as to the criterion that would group that bunch together, which makes the assessment “Player X isn’t a real power forward” pretty much worthless. I think I know what it means, but without the ability to define the contemporary power forward, how could I really know for sure?”
- Here is the inspiration for Mahoney’s post, by the way. The topic is about traditional positions.
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Dwight Howard has been long fed up with the LeBron Lovefest — even before it got super-sized. The reason Dwight says he doesn’t want to answer the questions about James and the Miami Heat is not just because he’s tired of the King. It’s because if Dwight truly said what he felt about James, he’d find himself in the middle of a media mess, although he no doubt would gain some allies in Cleveland. No, best to leave that one alone. Besides, Howard can’t afford to rile up the Heat Traveling All-Stars, given he might be outnumbered. But Howard is going to have to get used to LeBronmania virtually happening in his backyard.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy on Brandon Bass: “I don’t know [if Bass will play more]. It’s as simple as that. It will depend on Brandon, number one, if he’s able to improve in some of the areas that we think he has to improve in. Then he’s got a chance of playing more. There are other factors in terms of how lineups work and things like that that may be out of his control. But the biggest thing will be if he plays better in some areas. That’s to be seen.”
- Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com: “When I wake up on the morning of Friday, Oct. 29, I certainly don’t expect it to feel like any typical day. [...] On this atypical day, the Orlando Magic will get their first crack at the revamped Miami Heat. It will be their initial opportunity to prove they are still the more superior team in this newly-established, but rapidly evolving, Sunshine State rivalry. Since the week when LeBron James and Chris Bosh decided to unite with Dwyane Wade in Miami earlier this summer, much of the chit-chatter around central Florida has been placed on this new-fangled rivalry. NBA fanatics have turned to one another and curiously asked, “Can the Magic beat the Heat?” Just two days before celebrating one of the more popular holidays in American culture, Halloween, will it be Magic or Heat fans that deliver the initial scare to their adversaries? Although the game on Oct. 29 will be in South Beach at American Airlines Arena, I expect a hefty number of Magic fans to be present. If not at the game in Miami, nonetheless, every Magic supporter will undoubtedly be in front of a television to watch this highly-anticipated showdown.”
- Dwight Howard will make a trip to India to promote the NBA.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk has more on the topic: “Apparently, basketball is a sport a lot of people in India play in their youth but don’t really follow as they get older. Sort of how much of America treats soccer. It doesn’t seem to get the blood going in India. Cricket does, because who doesn’t love a good five-day test? Field hockey, badminton and of course soccer are popular. But basketball has a long way to go. Sending Dwight Howard there is the first step. But this is going to be a longer, harder struggle than it has been in China. There are no players from India in the NBA (it’s doubtful there are any ready for major Division I college ball). It is going to take many years of sending players, hosting clinics, finding ways to put the game at its highest levels in front of people.”
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The season’s first TNT Thursday will be recorded as certifiably historic in Orlando, where the Magic will play their first-ever game at the Amway Center against John Wall’s Washington Wizards. You can’t help but wonder, though, whether the league’s mythical scheduling computer spit out Washington as the first visitor to Orlando’s new building just in case the Wiz and Magic decide to resuscitate those trade talks headlined by Gilbert Arenas and Vince Carter over the next six weeks or so. Wall’s debut against Arenas? Tantalizing thought.”
- Austin Burton of Dime Magazine: “Orlando at Miami (Oct. 29, ESPN) — Although the rest of the schedule hasn’t been released, I’m thinking this will be the home debut of the Super-Friends. This will also be the first meeting in what should be a fierce cross-state rivalry for the next decade. Dwight Howard has been working on his post moves with Hakeem Olajuwon this summer, and will try to break some out against the team that’s hi-jacked all of his hype in the state of Florida. Dwight and Chris Bosh have always had a competitive, high-scoring rivalry, and LeBron has his own scores to settle with the Magic.”
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Jason Williams will return to the Orlando Magic. The 34-year-old free-agent point guard has signed a contract with the team, Magic officials announced Tuesday afternoon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is believed that Williams agreed to a one-year deal. Magic President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith did not return a phone call from the Sentinel for comment. Williams is now 13th player on the Magic roster with a guaranteed contract. The league-mandated roster minimum is 13, so the Magic almost certainly are done making any more free-agent signings.”
- More from Robbins: “We all know that Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy doesn’t like his team playing on Christmas. Van Gundy has said he’d like to see the league take a five-day break around the holiday. In a few hours, we should learn whether Van Gundy and the Magic will be playing on Christmas for the third consecutive year. At 7 tonight, NBA TV will air a special in which the NBA’s nationally televised games for the opening week of the 2010-11 season, Christmas and Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be released. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel has already reported that the Miami Heat will host the Magic on Oct. 29.“
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com has more on Jason Williams’ return.
- With 10 seconds remaining in the game, the Orlando Magic are down one and have possession of the basketball in the front court. Who gets the last shot? Vote here!
- Looking back at the Shaquille O’Neal-Hakeem Olajuwon matchup in 1995.
- John Krolik of ProBasketballTalk: “There are plenty of guys who can teach Olajuwon post moves, even the post moves Olajuwon himself used. The trick is finding a way to give Howard the confidence to actually use those moves in a game, which is what a great ex-player like Olajuwon can do for Howard. Howard has unmatched strength and explosiveness for a big man, and he’s extremely comfortable using his left hand around the basket. If he can add some footwork and counter-moves to his arsenal, he could easily win his first MVP award next season.”
- Remember Williams’ alley-oop to Mickael Pietrus in Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks? Now you do.
- Eric Freeman of The Baseline continues to think the Magic are too loaded: “Williams seems to understand that he’s the third point guard in Orlando, and John Denton also notes that the Magic “never wavered” in their desire to bring him back. So this seems to be a match where each side understands the relationship. At the same time, Williams was quite solid for the Magic last season and is only a third point guard at this point in his career because his body can’t handle the regular pounding of the full backup role. With that in mind, it’s easy to see how Stan Van Gundy might sometimes opt to play Williams as the backup rather than [Chris] Duhon. If that happens, how will Duhon react? He was brought in to be the backup, and he has almost certainly adjusted his expectations for the season accordingly. So if Williams often plays that role, will Duhon be upset? This has become a regular problem in Orlando. Players like Marcin Gortat and Brandon Bass entered last season with certain expectations given their large contracts and barely saw the floor. Now they want to be traded, and it’s easy to see Duhon in the same place, even if he’s not on the same level as those two.”
- Olajuwon is keeping “The Dream” alive with Dwight Howard and company.
- Orlando has sold more than 14,000 season tickets.
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post with the specifics of J.J. Redick‘s contract: ”More details about the Orlando Magic’s salary structure, specifically about J.J. Redick’s front-loaded contract, have emerged thanks once again to the indefatigable Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com. Deeks just updated his NBA salary database again, and his latest addition includes Redick’s previously unknown salary. We now know that Redick is owed $7.25 million this season, $6.75 million in 2011/12, and $6.19 million in 2012/13, for a total of $20.19 million. But there’s a previously unreported wrinkle to consider: the third year of that deal, which he originally received from the Chicago Bulls before the Magic matched the offer, is unguaranteed. It will become guaranteed ‘if not waived on or before July 8, 2012.’ ”
- Pro Basketball Prospectus 2010-11 will be released in late September or early October!
The Orlando Magic Are Spending to Win
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Via Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post:
Mark Deeks, who runs the indispensable ShamSports.com, has updated that site with nearly complete salary information on every NBA team, including the Orlando Magic; the only Magic contract figure on which he’s unsure is J.J. Redick‘s. That’s the link you should consult for every salary-related need you have, and not just for the Magic. Not counting Redick’s salary, the Magic are on the hook for over $85 million this season, and that’s before adding the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax payment. Orlando management is indeed shelling out to put a winning team on the floor this season.
There’s no question that it’s a great time to be a Magic fan, now more than ever. The Orlando Magic are set to unveil the Amway Center in October. Dwight Howard is a top five player and one of the more engaging personalities in the NBA. The players for the Magic are a likable group of guys, led by a fiery head coach — Stan Van Gundy – and an excellent coaching staff. But almost none of this would be possible without Orlando’s front office that has shown the commitment to win. And the Magic are chasing the ever-elusive “gold ball” (the Larry O’Brien trophy), as president of basketball operations Otis Smith likes to put it sometimes, by opening up the checkbook with Rich DeVos’ blessing. Five years ago, it would have been unheard of for Orlando to financially support a payroll that is more than $90 million. Yet that is today’s reality. My how things have changed.
Don’t take anything for granted, though.
The golden era of the Magic is going to go away, sooner or later. It’s happened once, and it’ll happen again. Nevertheless, savor the moment.
Thursday’s Magic Word
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post: It’s hard to draw any conclusions about how they’ll play together from such a small sample size. My impression, based on their overall performance last season, is that [Brandon] Bass‘ best skill is scoring. 5.8 points in only 13.0 minutes per game last year, on a career-best 51.1% shooting. That’s not bad for a guy still learning the playbook in the playoffs, I suppose. His asset is his mid-range jumper, typically the least efficient shot in basketball. Synergy Sports Technology shows, however, Bass connected on half of his 56 jumpers from within 17 feet of the basket last year, which ties him for 9th in the league among the 141 players who attempted at least 50 shots from that distance. Hyper-specific stat, I know, but again: that’s Bass’ biggest asset. Even when he posts up, he’s more likely to turn, face, and shoot the jumper than he is to try a hook or drive for a layup. And in 92 post-ups last year, he passed the ball 8 times, so you know he’s not likely to give the ball back once he gets it. And [Rashard] Lewis? He can score too. [Stan] Van Gundy‘s been known to run post-ups for him to get his offense going, particularly in third quarters if Lewis didn’t get many touches in the first half of a given game. He’s effective down there because, at 6’10″, there aren’t many small forwards who can handle his size. That’s Lewis’ utility as a combo forward: put him on the perimeter at power forward, and opposing fours can’t keep up with him. Put him in the post, and opposing threes can’t muscle him. For the first three years of his deal, the Magic have heavily leaned on the former strategy. Maybe it’s time to try the latter a bit more. And that’s why, to a degree, you like this news: the Magic aren’t getting complacent. They are looking to make some changes. Not drastic ones–note [Bob] Vander Weide saying “we love [Lewis] at the four the majority of the time”–but changes nonetheless.
- The rise and fall of Jason Williams.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk ranks the Orlando Magic third in his off-season power rankings: “They didn’t do much this off-season, other than be involved in Chris Paul rumors. Oh, and they got Chris Duhon, let us never forget that. But as much as they get overlooked, the Magic did not have to do much. This team has been to the NBA finals and the Eastern Conference finals the last two years. They kept J.J. Redick and you’ll see more of him and less of Vince Carter. They will stick with their system of Dwight Howard and guys who can shoot the three, because it works. Jameer Nelson is still good and will have a chip on his shoulder. They still play defense. Overlook Orlando at your own peril, they are contenders.”
- Royce Young of CBSSports.com: “An article from the Times-Picayune says after hearing Demps’ plan for retooling the roster, Paul is “on board with the team’s direction and will not seek to force a trade.” The Times-Picayune story says the Hornets won’t listen to any offers for Paul. Also mentioned is this quote: “Chris never said anything about a trade, ” a source close to Paul said. “All he said is that he wants to win. He does so much in the community. He hasn’t built those courts around (town) for nothing. Of course, he wants to be here.” Which I find odd because Paul publicly said he’d be open to a trade if the right situation presented itself. This sounds like positive spin from Paul’s camp so in order to not come out looking like a bad guy. Not everyone wants to walk down the road LeBron did just to get a shot at winning. Besides, there have been multiple reports saying CP3 would like to be traded to a contender. Multiple high-profile, plugged-in insiders have reported the same thing. There’s definitely some smoke here. And this report from the Times-Picayune might just be an effort to put out some of the fire.”
- Basketball-Reference has player photos now!
Rashard Lewis is Expected to See More Minutes at Small Forward
Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Via George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel:
I had a nice conversation with Magic Bob Vander Weide — now the chief executive officer and vice chairman of the franchise — following Wednesday’s press conference. Glib and insightful as always, Vander Weide addressed the team’s style of play last season.
Not surprisingly, Magic fans can expect some changes.
As many people have barked about in columns, blogs and casual conversations, expect to see Brandon Bass get a lot more playing time at power forward [four slot], a switch that will allow Rashard Lewis to shift to the small forward [three] slot in the lineup. [...]
“In our post-season conversation, Stan [Van Gundy] said he should have practiced Rashard more at the three because on the baseline he’s probably the best post-up three when he plays that position, although we love him at four the majority of the time. If you don’t practice it, you don’t play it.”
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: “There will be some reactionary backlash to the expensive pile of contract extensions and promotions that keep the Orlando Magic leadership team in play for a few more seasons. The ghost of Fran Vázquez will rise up from Spain. John Weisbrod will show up wearing a hockey mask. Little Penny will be there all alone, since Shaq bolted to Los Angeles to schmooze courtside with Jack Nicholson. A lot of stuff has happened since 1989 when the Magic were NBA newbies and won all of 18 games. When you’ve been in business that long, there’s bound to be some regretful hiccups. Steven Hunter, Jeryl Sasser and Reece Gaines come to mind. Frightening images, I know. But if you want to hold the Magic accountable for the bad days at the office, look around and gather a dose of perspective. This organization has bounced back from its mistakes, reinvented itself, and has been a bedrock of stability in a sport where complicated chaos is the first order of business on any given day.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Alex Martins and Otis Smith traveled parallel paths to get to where they are. They were born in Jan. 1964. They graduated from college in 1986. And, in 1989, they joined the Orlando Magic organization: Martins as director of publicity and media relations, Smith as a player. They’ll continue to work with each other — and coach Stan Van Gundy — for a while longer, at least. On Wednesday, Magic Chief Executive Officer Bob Vander Weide formally announced that Martins and Smith have been promoted and had their contracts extended by one year to run through the 2012-13 season. Van Gundy has received a two-year contract extension through the 2012-13 season. [...] Martins, who has been elevated to the role of team president, will continue to oversee the team’s day-to-day business operations. Smith, who has been promoted to president of basketball operations, will handle the same duties he had as the team’s general manager.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy made a trip to Paris and visited Mickael Pietrus.
- General manager Otis Smith is still seeking a third point guard for the Orlando Magic.
- The Magic are willing to spend — for now: “Orlando Magic Chief Executive Officer Bob Vander Weide understands that his team could end up with the NBA’s highest payroll by the time the 2010-11 season ends. For now, he sounds OK with that — even if it means going further into the league’s punitive luxury tax. [...] Vander Weide indicated that, for now, at least, the team will do what it takes financially to make a run at the NBA title.”
- Dan Savage of NBA.com states that Orlando is committed to bringing a title to the City Beautiful.
- Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse: “As part of his two-year extension, Van Gundy will earn an estimated $4.3 million annually, putting him among the top 25 percent of coaches in the league. According to league sources, who confirmed his bonus clause, his contract is much like other NBA coaching contracts in that he will receive only a portion of it if the 2011-12 season is shortened because of the expected labor dispute. Although the Magic were unable to complete a potential trade earlier this summer that could have landed point guard Chris Paul of New Orleans — and they refused even to acknowledge the topic Wednesday — outside league sources confirmed that they indeed were willing to increase their future payroll significantly (i.e., taking Emeka Okafor’s bloated contract) to facilitate the deal.”
- The Magic are locked and loaded for the future with Van Gundy at the helm.
- Dwight Howard is the best center in the NBA, according to one writer.
- Which players for Orlando thrived against the weakest defensive teams in the league?
