Not Much Magic Left in Orlando These Days

What used to be one big Magic kingdom has been divided in two. Happiness still reigns at the famous amusement park south of town, but there is no joy in Orlando.

One moment, they have the team of the ‘90s--well, perhaps the late ‘90s--and the next the Magic is 11th in the East.

On the bright side, they may not have to worry about being swept out of the playoffs, as they have the last three years. They might not make the playoffs.

“Sometimes,” Dennis Scott says, “I say to myself, ‘Damn, if Shaq stayed, we were this close to being like the Dallas Cowboys, America’s team, a nationally known team.’ ”

Shaquille O’Neal is gone. Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson are injured. If you’re counting, those were their first, second and third options.

Bad luck is one thing, bad judgment another. Last spring, Rich DeVos, one of the five richest Americans and the best-heeled NBA owner, decided to bid $115 million for O’Neal with the Lakers at $120 million.

Of course, O’Neal and his people did put DeVos through some ordeals first. There was O’Neal’s absence after his grandmother’s death, the suggestion he wanted a new coach (O’Neal says he didn’t but has been zinging Brian Hill since entering California airspace.)

Next thing you knew, they were in their post-Shaq era. People still thought the Magic would win 55 games and Hardaway would turn into the next thing to Michael Jordan. Instead, Hardaway came back limping and dropped out five games into the season for arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Things went from problematic to ominous. Hardaway returned, but his pain persisted. There was muttering he had to learn to play with pain, that Anderson was nursing his sprained wrist until his partner returned.

Sidelined again, Hardaway flew to Houston for a second opinion. The media wanted to know why injured players kept leaving town. The year before, O’Neal rehabbed his broken thumb in Los Angeles, kicking off six months of speculation, and look where he is today.

Hardaway flew home and blasted back.

“I don’t owe any excuses to anybody, especially you,” he told reporters. “It’s a pretty good job you guys have, sitting there behind your microphones and typewriters and telling people what they ought to do and trying to stir up the fans.

“I’m going to do what I think is best for Penny Hardaway. And if that means going back to Houston, I will and I don’t care what y’all think.”

The Magic’s real problem isn’t physical or emotional but contractual: Hardaway will be a free agent in 1998, Anderson next summer.

In the meantime, the team is 7-16 without Hardaway and dropping fast.

“I’ve never been on a team before that went into a game without being confident they could win,” Horace Grant says, “but that’s not what I’ve seen around here lately.”

Says newcomer Rony Seikaly: “No one feels sorry for this team because of what they accomplished. They were like the young, braggy Orlando Magic. I know if I was playing against them, I’d like to kill them too.”

The Magic had traded up from Jon Koncak to Felton Spencer to Seikaly, but O’Neal must be starting to look good to Orlandans, 91% of whom told the local paper the Magic was offering too much last spring.

If they jump him when the Lakers come to town March 23, it’ll be out of love. It may sound like boos, but what they mean is, “Come back, big guy. Bring your mouse ears. Make it the way it used to be.”

IN BIG D AS IN DUH, FIRE SALE BURNS ON

Reaction to the Dallas Mavericks’ (choose one) daring/stupid/Clipper-like trade of Jason Kidd set off a leaguewide cry of:

“Why didn’t they call us first?”

Several teams, including the Charlotte Hornets, Clippers and Boston Celtics, lamented they didn’t get a chance to bid. That’s how bad the Mavericks are going. The shorn are lining up to shear them.

M.L. Carr has already lifted next spring’s No. 1 pick. While the Ross Perot Jr. administration interviews general manager candidates for its vacant job, co-owner Frank Zaccanelli, a Realtor, and Mark Aguirre, a former player with no prior administrative experience, continue shopping Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn, Eric Montross, et al.

(Not that they’re hung up on the experience issue. As if determined to maximize the number of amateurs, Zaccanelli and Aguirre flew to Los Angeles to meet Brian Williams, bringing Michael Johnson, the Olympic sprinter who’s buying into the team.)

In Dallas, rationalization flows hip deep. Coach Jim Cleamons, a lifetime assistant before this season, called Kidd for Sam Cassell “a wash.”

Zaccanelli conceded A.C. Green’s salary and $2-million trade bonus adds $4.8 million a year to the Mavericks’ cap through 1999.

“The cap game,” said Zaccanelli, “for us won’t start until A.C.’s contract is up.”

Meanwhile, Cassell, whom the Mavericks must now sign, is out pricing luxury craft. An upcoming free agent making $1.2 million a year, he’s expected to get into the $5-million to $6-million class . . . if he takes it easy on them.

Over in Phoenix, Kidd continued to approach maturity tentatively. He’d been claiming he got his sore neck Dec. 10 against the Clippers here but acknowledged--after his former teammates divulged--he was in an early-morning auto accident after the game.

Kidd was spectacular in his first game with the Suns--for 20 minutes. Four points, one assist and three rebounds from a triple-double, he suffered a hairline fracture of his collarbone. On the other hand, 27 other teams will take him, as is.

NAMES AND NUMBERS

A star at last: After being courted by Maverick executives here, Williams and new agent Dwight Manley flew to Toronto and Chicago to hear pitches from the Raptors and Bulls. Said Williams: “I like hockey, so the Canadian people will like me.” . . . New Jersey Net rookie Kerry Kittles is averaging 22 points and shooting 51% in his last six games. Says Indiana Coach Larry Brown: “I’ve seen them all, and Kittles is the best rookie I’ve seen this year.” Says Knick Coach Jeff Van Gundy: “I would have to concur.” Said Reggie Miller: “He reminds me of myself.” . . . All-star balloting, that exercise in democracy, mass delusion and/or corporate high jinks, is on again with the usual mysterious developments: Grant Hill leads Michael Jordan. If Hill’s so popular, why doesn’t road attendance (Bulls are first, Lakers second, Pistons 12th) show it? The gang at Fila, Hill’s shoe sponsor, isn’t punching out ballots by the thousand, is it? . . . Mitch Richmond is eighth among West guards. Four years in a row in the top 10 in scoring doesn’t cut it unless you have a commercial too. . . . Williams has 11,584 votes. Imagine if he had played. . . . If you’re looking for worthy dark horses, try these: Eddie Jones, Tom Gugliotta, Damon Stoudamire, Allen Iverson, Terrell Brandon, Glenn Robinson and Dennis Rodman.

The Rockets lost 13 in a row to Seattle over three years, including last spring’s playoff sweep, but have beaten the SuperSonics twice this season behind Charles Barkley (52 points, 29 rebounds and 11 assists). “I’m not responsible for what happened before I got here,” Barkley said after last week’s victory at Houston. “All I know is we’re 2-0 against them.” . . . Bull update: Jordan, who had insisted he won’t return without Coach Phil Jackson, is softening: “I can’t see myself playing anywhere else. I enjoy Chicago. To see the No. 23 and Michael Jordan’s name associated with another city doesn’t really sound right. If Phil wants to continue to coach and he wants to go to another situation, I’ll support Phil. Will I follow him? I can’t say that.” Hint: Maybe someone explained that cap rules will prevent any other team from paying him the $30 million he’s getting this season.

America’s new team: Sportmart reports last year’s top selling jerseys: 1) Michael Jordan’s red Bull jersey. 2) Jordan’s black Bull jersey. 3) Rodman’s red Bull jersey. 4) Rodman’s black Bull jersey. Then Penny Hardaway, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Emmitt Smith, O’Neal and Pippen jerseys. . . . The Bulls’ switchboard reported more than 200 complaints in the first quarter of the Christmas game for the new NBC Queasy-cam that follows play up and down the sideline. Said NBC’s Andy Rosenberg: “When they started doing talkies in the movies, I’m sure people complained, ‘Why are the characters talking?’ Now you wouldn’t think of going to a silent movie. Since we took over the NBA on NBC, this is something both Dick Ebersol and I have wanted. This is the vanguard of television.” Tune in next telecast to see if the vanguard of television is back. . . . Bull players had a $100 limit Christmas gift exchange. Jordan drew Jason Caffey’s name and bought him a portable compact disc player because Caffey was always borrowing his. Said Caffey: “I was hoping for a Range Rover from him.”