O-Town Tragedy

As the saga of Dwight continues, the Magic front office has become something of a joke. Well, not Stan Van Gundy. He's still a shrill hedgehog of horror who can coach the hell out of a bunch of role players. But I'm talking about Otis Smith and Bob "I'll just have a couple glasses of wine and then call my star player to beg him to stay" Vander Weide. With Vander Weide gone, let's talk about Otis.



Otis Smith somehow has a job, still. Even in this economy. Even with Kevin Pritchard unemployed.

Otis Smith is the guy who, along with Ernie Grunfeld, can be blamed in part for the NBA lockout: then with the Sonics (RIP), Lewis agreed to a sign-and-trade 6 year, $118 million contract. Lewis didn't live up to his prior scoring and rebounding ways. At all.

But, Otis Smith is the guy who got Rafer Alston on short notice (after Jameer Nelson's big shoulder injury) for Mike Wilks, Brian Cook, Adonal Foyle (who was waived by Memphis and re-signed a month later by Smith), and a 2009 first round pick (that the Grizzlies turned into Demarre Carroll). In 2009, the Magic made the NBA Finals thanks in large part to Rafer Alston. Good trade? Good enough, but turning those four guys into a point guard no longer in the league? Eh. That trade was won by Houston, who acquired Kyle Lowry.

Following the Magic's loss in the 2009 Finals, Smith looked to regroup for another run. Hedo Turkoglu, the point-forward, had left for much greener pastures in Toronto where he would whine and dine himself out of the rotation. In a trade with New Jersey, Smith netted Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson in return for Rafer Alston and Tony Battie. New Jersey liked the move because the Nets thought they could land LeBron and possibly another marquee free agent in 2010. Otis Smith presumably liked the move because he had seen Vince Carter peak several years earlier who had, at least on one occasion, deigned to play defense. Smith also had to decide what to do with Marcin Gortat, the Polish Hammer. Gortat became a restricted free agent and Dallas sought to sign him for the Mid-level Exception. Smith, seemingly in need of a backup to franchise cornerstone Dwight Howard, matched the offer.

With Turkoglu feasting on pizza (best link ever, btw)in Toronto and a starting lineup of Jameer "Crib Midget" Nelson at point guard, Vince Carter at the 2, Matt Barnes as small forward, Rashard Lewis as power forward, and Dwight Howard anchoring the center spot, the 2009-2010 Magic literally swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs (Bobcats and Hawks) only to be stopped by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.* A step back? Sure, but while Orlando had upgraded, the Celtics had Kevin Garnett back, who they had been missing when Orlando made the Finals. Clearly, Kevin Garnett > Vince Carter.

None of these have been game-changing, championship moves. Arguably, Smith's best move was one borne of desperation: Rafer Alston. Nevertheless, Smith dragged his reputation and the Magic to new lows for a potential contender. During the 2010-2011 season, he acknowledged his drastic overvaluing of Rashard Lewis and, in an effort to trade for a needed scorer, swapped Lewis for Gilbert Arenas. The Wizards were desperate to offload Gilbert after he pooped in a teammate's shoe he brought guns into the locker room he brought guns into the locker room and the ensuing public relations fallout. Arenas had been a proven scorer lately beset by recurring injuries. But, like Vince Carter, Arenas was not known as a tenacious defender. Again, it appeared as though Smith was a few years behind the best time to trade for someone with this skill set.

Smith also realized his trade for Vince Carter hadn't yielded the best results and changed his mind on Marcin Gortat. Smith traded both for Jason Richardson and a now substantially overpaid Hedo Turkoglu. If you haven't noticed a pattern in Smith's work as GM, to him, salary = value, every time.

These two giant trades ripped apart the heart of the Magic roster in the middle of the season. Both trades were Smith's answer to Miami adding Chris Bosh and LeBron James. Both trades were Smith's answer to Boston's health. Both trades were Smith's answer to Chicago adding Carlos Boozer. Both trades were Smith's answer to New York adding Amare Stoudemire in the offseason and Carmelo mid-season. This might be slightly better than Ernie Grunfeld's answer to Boston uniting the Big Three: signing Juan Dixon. The result? The Magic were defeated in the playoffs by virtually the same Hawks team they'd swept the previous year.

Orlando is a luxury tax team big on overpaying big names potentially past their prime. It's a team assembled without a long-term strategy. Can you guess why Dwight wants to leave, despite having one of the best coaches in the NBA right now?

All of that being said, the Magic aren't a contender this year. With Horford out in Atlanta, the Magic could sneak into the Eastern Conference Finals if Chicago and Miami have to face up earlier. This Magic team is built to be pretty good at prices that demand greatness. Have fun losing in the second round when you should be tanking.

---

Interesting Otis Smith fact: he went to Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. Florida is insane.

Brandon Bass for Big Baby? If I'm Boston, yes please. Bass is cheaper, less of a headcase, and has more potential. Maybe Otis Smith has a thing for moody dudes?

* - Vince Carter boasted after sweeping the Hawks that the Magic might go 16-0 in the postseason. Coincidentally, the year before, the Cleveland Cavaliers had swept both of their opponents en route to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing there to the Magic 4 games to 2.