The NBA has resolved its labor problems. Now the teams are going through a rushed training camp as they get ready for opening day on December 25, 2011. In this Orlando Magic training camp report, we can see how the team has become the focal point of the preseason in the NBA much to its chagrin.
Superman Splits?
One has to feel sorry for Stan Van Gundy, the head coach of the Orlando Magic. Known for his detailed preparation, not only does he have a short training camp to get his team ready, but he has to deal with complete chaos when it comes to his roster. This is because, of course, everything boils down to whether Dwight Howard, nicknamed Superman, will be traded or not.
Howard has asked for a trade. At various points, it looked like he was headed to either the New Jersey Nets or Los Angeles Lakers. Then the other superstar looking for a trade, Chris Paul, was prevented from being traded to the Lakers when dictatorial commissioner David Stern stepped in and terminated the trade at the behest of small market team owners. Those teams considering a trade for Howard became hesitant and, for now, Howard remains playing in preseason games with Orlando. With less than one week until the actually NBA season starts, people that bought Magic tickets can breath a sigh of relief because Dwight Howard has yet to be traded.
Plan Gone Bad
The Magic are caught between a rock and a hard place. Instead of focusing on youth, they sought to entice Dwight Howard to stay by trading for Glen Davis, his buddy, of the Celtics and bringing back Jason Richardson, a very veteran guard. This team made a deep run in 2009 into the playoffs and the management seemed to think that Howard might stay if they loaded up to do so again. Given this, the team stuck with the old guard of Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu while even brining in 3 point specialist J.J. Redick who is only valuable if there is a dominant center drawing in the other team’s defense.
The problem is Howard didn’t bite. While he is back at the training camp for the team, he still wants a trade. The only question now seems to be whether it will come in the next week or before the trade deadline. Either way, the Magic are in deep trouble because their entire team is built around him dominating under the basket. If Howard leaves, other teams can man up on the three point shooters of the Magic and none of those shooters have the moves or quickness to create their own shots. Nobody knows who will go with Howard when he is traded or who will come to the team in the trade. Watching the Magic prepare for the season is somewhat like watching the world’s slowest train wreck happening.
Hope?
The only real hope for the Magic to save this season and beyond is to trade Howard to the Lakers for Andrew Bynum. Bynum is a young Howard, but not as refined. It is well known that he would like to be the main man on a team, so a trade to the Magic would be a move that he would apparently embrace. Throw in the fact that Bynum could step in to Howard’s role and open up the shooting lanes for the teams outside guns and this is a trade that makes sense. Those that have already purchased Magic tickets could only hope for a trade like this one.
The only problem is whether the NBA will allow this to happen. Commissioner Stern appears to have it out for the Lakers after squashing the Chris Paul trade. The idea that Stern would kill the Paul trade, but not a Howard trade to the Lakers seems dubious at best.
Howard Stays
The final alternative for the Magic is to just refuse to trade Howard. Nearly everyone, including the Magic, agree that this would be a very bad strategy. An unhappy Howard would be bad in the locker room, kill team chemistry and turn the season into a grim grind to the end. To top things off, he could then leave the team at the end of the year as a free agent and the Magic would get nothing in return. Most people that bought Magic tickets beforehand doubt that the Magic will let that happen.
Season Prediction
It is going to be an ugly season for the Magic one way or the other. They built the team around Howard in an effort to get him to stay. It didn’t work. Without Howard, their roster is going to be unable to score unless they find another dominant center. Expect the Magic to play .500 ball at best and start rebuilding in the off season. I am sure you will be able to find plenty of cheap Magic tickets this season. We can only hope that they are able to do something before the trade deadline is finished.
