Bad team branding update: The Magic and Bobcats have hot new slogans (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Chicago  No Responses »
Sep 252012
 

The Orlando Magic are coming to the end of an offseason that saw them part ways with their two best players: All-NBA center Dwight Howard (traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, which you might have heard about ) and emerging forward Ryan Anderson (signed-and-traded to the New Orleans Hornets, which is one reason some are thinking playoffs in Louisiana ). The Charlotte Bobcats are coming off, statistically, the worst single season in NBA history . Neither team figures to be very good this year; both teams’ fan bases are in need of things to rally around.
That can mean only one thing: New slogan time!
Last year, the Magic’s go-to marketing phrase was, “Be Magic,” which sounds kind of like nothing and is pretty difficult to do unless you are young Timothy Hunter , and THAT was a decade-old Vertigo joke on an NBA blog in September. The transition to a new era of Magic basketball will take place under the auspices of first-year general manager Rob Hennigan, rookie head coach Jacque Vaughn and new signature star Player To Be Named Later beneath a banner reading: “WE WILL.”
According to John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com , the can-do catch-all aims to “reaffirm the franchise’s desire to be great.”
The powerful proclamation of “We Will” promises that the Magic will do whatever it takes to put a winner on the floor and create a product that Magic fans can be proud of.
“For us, this campaign was relevant with or without roster changes [...],” said Roman Vega, the Magic’s vice president of brand management. “It’s designed to shatter any questions out there about us not wavering in our mission to put us in a position to win a NBA title. That’s our number one goal.
“When you look at our mission statement, it’s to be champions on and off the court delivering legendary moments every step of the way,” Vega continued. “What we do from a marketing standpoint is to support and deliver with our mission statement and we really feel, ‘WE WILL,’ does that for our organization.”
That’s all very businesssynergistic, Mr. Vega. It also formalizes the far-future-tense nature of the situation in which the Magic organization finds itself after sending away its literal and metaphoric centerpiece in exchange for what — with all due respect to Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless — looks like a pretty iffy return.
We will be competitive. We will be dynamic. We will be excellent. … But, um, later. Like, in a while, maybe. Definitely not right now, and probably not any time soon. Also, any success the team has is definitely going to be a “we” thing, because in the present context, there doesn’t look to be a single player on the Magic you’d rely on to be a late-game scoring option or offensive focal point. Get ready for plenty of contested midrange shots!
In the meantime, please enjoy the “legendary moments” authored by Hedo Turkoglu, Christian Eyenga and Josh McRoberts. Wait, do cursing at hecklers , slobbering all over the place and dropping your pants on the court count as “legendary moments?” If so, then we’re probably set.

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The Orlando Magic admit that, yeah, they want to be really, really good like the San Antonio Spurs (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Atlanta  No Responses »
Aug 022012
 

For years, starting with the purge that saw ex-San Antonio Spurs employees Danny Ferry, Avery Johnson, and Mike Brown all take on significant gigs with other teams in 2005, it’s been more or less established that Gregg Popovich is acting as a Dean Smith-type in the pro ranks. Sprinkling the landscape with ex-players, coaches, and front offices executives on teams hoping to emulate San Antonio’s success. The motives have always been clear, if not remarked upon, but now teams are just outright copping to it.
Witness Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins, as quoted by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel , in the wake of his team’s hiring of former Spurs front office helper and scout Rob Hennigan, and former Spurs player and assistant coach Jacque Vaughn:
“Obviously,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said, “when you talk about the San Antonio Spurs, there are not many better in terms of the number of championships that they’ve won.”

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NBA Trade Rumors: Magic Must Deal Dwight Howard to a Bottom-Feeder as an Example

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jul 162012
 

The Orlando Magic have yet to decide what they’ll do with perpetually-pouting superstar Dwight Howard, but yet another intriguing scenario has emerged.

It’s no surprise this one has him going to the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to HOOPSWORLD’s Alex Kennedy, the Cleveland Cavaliers could help facilitate such a deal:

Three-team deal may send Dwight Howard to Lakers, Andrew Bynum to Cavs and picks/prospects/cap relief to Magic. Still trying to get details.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 14, 2012

This wouldn’t be the first version of a trade sending Howard to a contender, and it probably won’t be the last.

But, maybe it should be.

Why is Howard the one being treated like royalty while the comparatively-loyal Andrew Bynum might wind up with the rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers?

If anyone deserves to be part of a rebuilding process, it’s Howard. 

Not only has this guy all but abandoned the city that drafted him in 2004; he’s held that city captive through well over a year of indecision and comically-unreasonable demands. The last thing general manager Rob Hennigan and the Orlando Magic should do is capitulate.

The last thing they should do is become yet another team who bent to the will of a celebrity.

Howard has made his money thanks to Orlando’s fan base, the people who bought tickets, merchandise and contributed to his ever-so-marketable persona.

Maybe he doesn’t owe it to them to stay. But, he should treat them with some dignity and honesty at the very least.

If he doesn’t want to be there, fine. 

But, he shouldn’t undermine the franchise’s ability to make up for his loss. That’s exactly what he’s done with his self-entitled shortlist and the constant leaks about the process underway.

Remember, the recent revelation that Howard still couldn’t be persuaded to stay came out of Howard’s camp. Any hope Hennigan had of using the possibility as leverage in maximizing returns from a deal went out the window with that little leak.

Of course, Howard has no incentive to aid Orlando’s pursuit of a nice haul. The more his destination team gives up, the less he’ll have to work with once there.

The reality is that it won’t be easy to send Howard to one of his preferred clubs. Talks with the Brooklyn Nets haven’t gone anywhere, and the Dallas Mavericks are a non-starter.

So, why not take this opportunity to send a message to Howard and those like him?

Why not force him to spend a year dealing with the kind of upheaval the Magic are about to undertake?

Teams may not be willing to give up much for a rental, but the Houston Rockets‘ willingness to do business suggests otherwise.

Unfortunately, even the reshuffled Rockets may be too kind a final destination for Howard. 

Maybe Hennigan should see what the Bobcats have to offer.

Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com

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NBA Trade Rumors: Dwight Howard Must Give Magic GM a Chance

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jul 132012
 

Regime changes usually happen for a reason in the NBA, but that fact appears to be lost upon Dwight Howard. Despite having a new general manager in charge, D12 still covets a trade away from the organization with which he’s spent the entirety of his NBA career. 

According to ESPN’s Ric Bucher, Rob Hennigan called the center and essentially begged him to give the new Orlando Magic another chance. Dwight would hear none of it, saying that he’d heard all of Hennigan’s lines before. 

It’s the latest ridiculous move in a long list of such occurrences for the All-World center. 

Howard must understand that he is a championship piece, one that can single-handedly lead a team to the playoffs and help the squad at least have a shot at a title. Obviously, he does understand that, otherwise we wouldn’t see the same level of self-importance on his part. 

The part that he doesn’t truly understand is that a new talent evaluator is in charge. Hennigan is the youngest general manager in the NBA and needs to be given a chance to at least attempt to put secondary pieces around Superman. 

Seeing as he only just stepped into his role, inheriting an awful situation in the process, the mess that is the Magic right now is in no way his fault. Dwight must at least give him a season to correct it. 

The best thing that Howard could do for his career right now would be to drop out of the news. He should go on the record and say that he intends to play out the remainder of his contract with Orlando and evaluate his options next summer, but not before then. 

If anything, this mess is Howard’s fault because of the inexplicable opt-in he signed during the season. It was his choice to remain in Orlando, not anyone else’s. 

Now that he’s contractually obligated to, you know, play basketball for the Magic, he should stop causing drama and do exactly that. It would be perfectly fine if he kept his ear to the ground and had a constant, steady stream of communication with Hennigan to see what the organization’s plan was. 

As the season progresses, re-evaluate how the team is doing. See how the beginning of the offseason is going. 

Then, once the legally binding contract is up, and he’s truly a free agent and not just a self-made free agent, then he can pursue his options. 

All’s fair in love and war, as the saying goes, but this is neither. It’s business, and Hennigan hasn’t been given a chance to even see his hand, much less play it, before he’s being forced to fold by one of his cards.

At the end of the day, no matter how glamorous the situation may be, no matter how much star power Dwight may bring to the table, he is still one of those cards, and he’s controlled by his general manager.

Howard isn’t giving the new management a fair shake at all, something he needs to do if he’s ever going to regain his popularity.

He doesn’t have to stay. I’m not asking that from him. 

By all means, let him bolt to the Brooklyn Nets or some other team (Atlanta Hawks, please) if he can, but only once his contract is up. 

Just give Hennigan a chance first. 

Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com

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NBA Trade Rumors: Dwight Howard Can Only Himself for Dwightmare Mess

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

In news that hardly qualifies as shocking, Dwight Howard still doesn’t want to play for the Orlando Magic, according to ESPN’s Ric Bucher:

After several months of trying to trade Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan called the All-Star center Wednesday night to see if he’d reconsider giving Hennigan and the Magic’s new regime a chance to keep Howard in Orlando, a source close to Howard said.

For all Howard’s resentment of the team that put him on the map, he should take account for his role in this never-ending debacle.

It’s all to easy to point fingers at Otis Smith and the Orlando Magic front office that was.

There’s nothing about acquisitions like Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson that make a whole lot of sense. The six-year, $112 million deal once given to Rashard Lewis and then exchanged for Gilbert Arenas has raised more than its share of eyebrows as well.

Then, of course, Orlando swapped a forward with some mid-range game in Brandon Bass for Glen “Big Baby” Davis, a guy destined to create a crowd in the paint when Dwight Howard’s around.

Howard was open about his wishes for input into personnel decisions, and he may very well have played a role in a few of them. He was almost certainly behind the decision to acquire Davis, which unquestionably set this year’s team back.

D12 may aspire to be a general manager, but he shouldn’t quite his day job anytime soon.

And about that day job.

Sure, Howard is a phenomenal athlete and a menace inside the paint. But, he’s yet to become the kind of scorer that elite giants like Shaquille O’Neal were in their primes.

His superstar status has a bit more to do with hype than reality. If Howard had, at any point in his eight years, developed a competent mid-range game, the Magic would probably be significantly better. 

But Orlando’s predicament isn’t just about this organization’s roster or inability to make a compelling postseason push.

It has more to do with the extent to which Howard has influenced this situation in such a public and counterproductive way.

By airing his grievances to the world, he ruined Orlando’s leverage. With every front office on the planet understanding that Howard is a goner one way or the other, it’s no secret that general manager Rob Hennigan must move his disaffected big man or risk losing him for nothing.

The shortlist of preferred destinations didn’t help either. Why give Orlando your best possible offer when you know they can only send him to a couple of teams?

Howard’s brash publicity campaign was his own worst enemy, and it’s made it virtually impossible for the Magic to receive fair value in any deals they make.

And chances are, he’d already be with the Brooklyn Nets had he not decided to opt in to the final year of his deal with Orlando.

This painful saga might otherwise be over by now.

We can all think Dwight that it isn’t.

Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com

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NBA Rumors: Ranking Rumored Dwight Howard Trade Scenarios According to Logic

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Dwight Howard‘s days are numbered with the Orlando Magic. We’ve known this for some time, and Rob Hennigan’s selection as the organization’s new general manager hasn’t changed a thing.

If anything, the franchise appears to be more resolute than ever to make a deal happen.

There’s always the chance that something will change, but the Orlando Sentinel’s Brian Schmitz reports that Hennigan doesn’t sound especially optimistic. 

As much as the Magic would like for Howard to be part of their newest plan, Hennigan only wants him if he’s all in. “We want our players to be invested in the organization,” he said.

Howard has been anything but invested in Orlando’s future, and he probably won’t be part of it for much longer. But, where will he wind up in that event?

Here are some of the possibilities.

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