Howard likely to pull another Shaq on Magic
A dozen years after Shaquille O'Neal was taken No. 1 in the 1992 draft,
the Magic had the good fortune of landing Dwight Howard with the top
pick. But there still are no banners hanging in Orlando. And Howard, who
can become a free agent next summer, is sure looking as if he'll be the
latest Magic franchise center out the door.
"It's pretty much
identical," said NBA TV analyst Dennis Scott, a guard on the Magic team
O'Neal left behind in 1996. "Shaq got us to one Finals (a 4-0 loss to
Houston in 1995) and Howard went to one Finals (a 4-1 defeat to the
Lakers in 2009). They both were perennial All-Stars. Dwight won a
slam-dunk contest, although Shaq did rap videos."
O'Neal has a tattoo of the Superman logo, while Howard donned a Superman
cape to win that 2008 dunk contest. And now, once again, Orlando is at
risk of ending up with a center who resembles Clark Kent.
"It
makes my stomach turn," said Nick Anderson, a star on the Orlando team
Shaq bolted from and now a Magic community ambassador. "Because it just
seems like the same path."
Anderson is holding out hope Howard will stay with the Magic. But don't count on it.
"With what happened last year with (Carmelo Anthony going from Denver to
New York) and the Big Three (LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwyane
Wade) down in Miami, Dwight really wants to go to a bigger market to
maximize his marketability," said Scott, who played for the Magic from
1990 to '97. "His personality is he wants to do like LeBron did and be
in the limelight, and Orlando is not a limelight city."
So the question is becoming: Where will Howard end up?
On
Wednesday there was a report that the New Jersey Nets, who will move to
Brooklyn next year, are prepared to offer a trade package featuring
center Brook Lopez and two future first-round picks for Howard. But that
quickly was shot down by Nets general manager Billy King, who said he
hasn't talked to the Magic about a trade since February.
There
remains the possibility of Howard landing in New York, which should have
cap room next summer. And the Los Angeles Lakers could dangle the likes
of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom for Howard. Wouldn't that be
fitting since O'Neal ended up with the Lakers when he bolted Orlando 15
years ago, leaving the Magic with nothing?
But there would be one
major difference in this "Superman" sequel. You better believe Orlando
isn't going to risk losing another franchise center for nada.
"They
didn't get anything in compensation for Shaq," said Anderson, who
played for the Magic from 1989 to '99. "I don't think they want that to
happen again if the young man decides to go somewhere else. You don't
want to make that same mistake again."
In a normal season, the trade deadline is in late February. But that
will change considering this lockout-shortened campaign will start
nearly two months late (Dec. 25 rather than Nov. 1).
Howard
hasn't offered a lot of clues about his thought process. That
disappoints Anderson, who believes Howard needs to express how he feels
about his Orlando situation and what changes might need to be made.
During the lockout, Howard did tell Esquire about his interest in a
large market, saying, "There's more you can do in a bigger place." But
Anderson scoffs at this big-market desire.
"All the sponsors,
they know exactly where you are," Anderson said. "You don't have to go
to New York and Boston or LA or to (another) bigger market to get more
exposure. Plus, if you go to one of those big markets like New York or
LA, they've got other sports franchises. They've got movie stars. It's
not just you.
"In Orlando, you are the show. Besides Disney World, you are the show.
What don't you like about that? If I were in his shoes, I'd have
everything (in Orlando)… The media down here is very generous in my
opinion. If you go to one of those big-market places and you think the
media is generous to you, you have another think coming."
Perhaps
the media wasn't as generous in Orlando during O'Neal's stint. Scott
recalled O'Neal being irritated by an Orlando Sentinel column that asked
if he was worth $100 million and declared he probably wasn't.
As
it turned out, he sure was. Shaq got a seven-year, $121 million deal
from the Lakers and helped lead them to three titles. The Magic
initially offered an $88 million package before making a last-ditch
offer that was higher than the Lakers'. But that offer came at "12:01,"
Scott said, and O'Neal was out the door.
"It took me 10 years to
halfway get over it," Pat Williams, Orlando's senior vice president,
said last year about the Magic losing Shaq. "To lose a 24-year-old that
is the franchise is just very, very painful."
It sure was. After going 60-22 in O'Neal's final season of 1995-96, the Magic slipped to 45-37 the next season.
Coach Brian Hill was fired midway through 1996-97. And the Magic would
not win another playoff series until 12 years after Shaq slipped out of
town.
"Everything changed. There was no longer that excitement of walking into the arena," Scott said of life right after O'Neal left.
"It was like all the air seeping out," Anderson said.
Shaq's
replacement? It was well-coiffed Rony Seikaly, who was acquired from
Golden State and who Anderson said liked to "hang out with models and
hang out at the beach."
No, he wasn't Superman under the basket.
But
times have changed. Magic officials saw how devastating the loss of
O'Neal was to their franchise. They saw Cleveland suffer through an
NBA-record 26-game losing streak last season after losing James for
nothing.
At least the Nuggets were able to salvage a good package
of players and draft picks when Anthony forced his way to New York in a
trade that finally got done last February. So expect Orlando to go that
route.
If the deal with New Jersey gets done as reported, Lopez
would provide the Magic with a solid young center. The draft choices
might be prime assets.
If a deal is made with the Lakers, either
Gasol or Bynum could be a replacement for Howard at center. While Gasol,
31, is a four-time All-Star to no appearances for Bynum, Bynum might
actually be preferable since he's seven years younger.
A Howard
trade to the Lakers really would make this a sequel. If more
championships were to follow in LA, that might make Orlando officials
pass on a dominant center if they were to get the No. 1 pick again.
.
.
Totalna paranoja kod Magica da će im Howard 'izvesti Shaqa', rezultat te paranoje će biti trejd za neki k..... a možda i za nekog ko nešto vrijedi.
