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Seeking to rise from the ashes, Orlando's novice general manager has unquestionably burned the city's NBA franchise to the ground. He traded an enormously talented hometown player for Steve Francis and some serviceable NBA vets who formed the supporting cast on a team that proceeded no farther than the first round of last year's playoffs. Oh, and he threw in three other Magic players to boot.

John Weisbrod must be stopped. This isn't Ivy League hockey.

Weisbrod was given reins to the franchise in March because his predecessor blundered mightily in personnel decisions. Former Magic players are thriving elsewhere, as are young players bypassed in recent drafts.

The abandonment of Darrell Armstrong before last season exposed the immaturity of Tracy McGrady, mistakenly elevated to the role of team captain. Or, perhaps, it revealed that he is but a young man of just 24 years, now 25.

Several months earlier his most intimate friend, Mike Miller, was also dispatched. During the regrettable season, a close friend and a beloved aunt each died.

Memo to Mr. Weisbrod: Your teammates at Harvard had better upbringing than today's NBA super specimens.

Second memo to Mr. Weisbrod: Those guys from Houston have been in exactly one NBA playoff series in their 5-year NBA careers, Yao Ming and all.

We're now hearing things about T-Mac that were never apparent on the court. He's a slacker, they tell us. He hogs the ball and stifles the players around him. Of course, he's averaged about 30 points per game the past two seasons, and undoubtedly he's fallen in love with the recognition.

What's a poor guy supposed to do; pass to Andrew DeClerq?

He and Juwan Howard, packed into the Houston deal together, were second only to a couple fellas in Los Angeles in combo scoring average last season. Hmm, T-Mac must not have stifled Howard too greatly.

The virtuoso performances were stunning, capped by a 62-point night in one of his final games as a Magic.

The notion of T-Mac as slacker reminds me of Abe Lincoln being told General Grant was a drunk. "Find out what he¹s drinking," Mr. Lincoln instructed, "and send a barrel of it to all my other generals."

Terry Duschinski is with www.floridafitness.com.