Why the Orlando Magic Screwed Themselves

From Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter):

Before I duck out again, a Dwight Howard note: the Magic, I’m told, are hopeful that they can pull the trigger on a deal by early August (although I certainly couldn’t tell you which one it might be). That being said, new GM Rob Hennigan – who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time in Vegas – is proving to be very prudent in this process, meaning those hopes won’t be realized if the deal simply isn’t up to his standard’s.

Newly instated general manager Rob Hennigan may have been just the guy to handle this Howard soap opera six months ago, but the fact remains nobody, not even him, can save Orlando at this point. No matter how prudent, how diligent or how patient they are.

The Magic are—for lack of a better word—screwed. By prolonging this ill-fated marriage, they have shown weakness as an organization. While they were seemingly smart to bypass the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets offers, the unsettling fact remains that those offers are probably as good as it’s going to get.

Howard has proven to be a loose cannon, void of the capacity to make a pressingly permanent decision. And by not dealing him sooner, the Magic have allowed him to showcase such shortcomings numerous times. What kind of team is going to want to inherit that type of thinking, especially without a contract extension? And better yet, what type of team is going to be prepared to sell an arm and a leg in the process?

The Magic are not going to make off with a king’s ransom like the Denver Nuggets did for Carmelo Anthony, and the New Orleans Hornets did for Chris Paul. They’re not going to get multiple players with the potential to become superstars along with high quality draft picks. In fact, they’ll be lucky to land more than one significant asset at all.

That’s what time does to an unhappy superstar, especially one like Howard. His value, like that of a new car, has depreciated over time. Not only is his attitude and commitment suspect, but he’s now fresh off back surgery. Sure, he’s supposed to make a full recovery, but tell that to a guy like Amar’e Stoudemire who just had the worst season of his career since he was rookie, months after sending his back under the knife.

Howard remains a superstar, but he’s no longer the catch he was a year ago, or even 18 months ago. The Magic could have had made out like bandits—or as close to it as possible—had they traded Howard sooner. But instead, they sit at the mercy of teams who can only partially meet their demands, all for sitting on a disgruntled star who never had any intention of re-upping with the team.

No, this isn’t Hennigan’s fault, it’s more of Otis Smith’s and the rest of the Orlando front office. They placed too much faith in Howard, gave him too much power. However, it is now Hennigan’s problem, and though he was wise to set a tentative deadline, a self-imposed restriction means little, if anything at this point.

The Magic must move Howard sooner rather than later, before they’re forced to accept even less for his services.

Either way, though, one thing remains for a certain—Orlando is well on its way to becoming the poster-team for patience gone awry.