NBA BASKETBALL
When the Magic Fails
<December 14, 2001>

By Tom Snow

Two seasons ago Orlando entered into an intense period of courtship and negotiation designed to bring superstars Grant Hill and Tim Duncan to Orlando. These completely telegraphed moves the Magic would, if all went as planned, set the franchise on a course of prosperity that would bring championships and a new arena in which to hang the banners. Little could Magic management know that they would ultimately lose Duncan to the Spurs and Hill to bone spurs.

The Magic announced on Friday that Grant Hill would miss at least five games so that his ankle, operated on twice in the past two years, would be able to “heal.” Hill’s hobble to the injured list is an ominous signal for the Magic, whose whiff on Duncan and massive dollar commitments to Hill have severely constrained their championship aspirations.

This nightmare scenario is eerily reminiscent of the recent spectacle of Steve Young and Troy Aikman defiantly battling injury while being inexorable drawn into dreaded early retirement. While Hill’s ankle injury is much less serious medically than the brain injuries of Young and Aikman, the net effect could easily end up being the same.

For the Magic, whose championship hopes were renewed with the emergence of Tracy McGrady and Mike Miller, the immediate competitive issues that result from Hill’s absence will probably derail any hope of winning the Eastern Conference this season. But more important is the potential for Hill’s medical uncertainty, and the Magic’s long-term salary cap situation, to foster growing frustration for Magic fans and players alike.

The operational questions are many: How long can the Magic wait for Hill to recover? Even assuming he recovers, will he be the same player that he was before the injury and resulting lengthy time off? As long as Hill is an expensive reclamation project the Magic’s team development strategies will suffer. How and who do you draft or trade for when your superstar point guard/shooting guard is ready to return any day, or not?

And lets be honest, right now McGrady is the key player for the Magic. Any and all effort has to be expended on surrounding him, and his growing legion of fans, with a team that can provide the possibility of a championship. Unfortunately, barring a quick, almost miraculous, recovery by Hill, the odds are that the Magic will languish among the other undistinguished teams in the East.