Constantin

Howard had made obvious that he wants out of Orlando. Hasn't he? He has finished Orlando in his head, he even named places he would desire (or maybe dream) to be. Supporters of this last decision should explain the logic in shaping things as per the wishes of the player who is not committed to the Orlando Magic. Trading howard for a center and several draft picks would have made more sense in terms of creating a strong team in 2-3 years.

Incoming GM and coach will be Howard's puppets. If not, the same type of endless drama again. Either case, the Magic will lose. A player commanding the coach and the GM is not going to show respect to his teammates, he will treat teammates as servants; there will be no chemistry, no true teamwork.

As of today I drop my Orlando Magic fan status (who cares... I care.) Wrong decision, again. They should have let go Dwight Howard and keep Van Gundy. Howard is cancer. Worse times are ahead for the Magic.

It's not about how Turkish Hedo is, I'm sure he is fully Turkish; in the NBA, the world's most important international sports arena, only the best athletes will perform and earn big money regardless of which part of the world they have been raised or their citizenship.

This thread is not about Hedo's performance. Since the "Turkish player" was inserted when talking about an unrelated NBA player, I have contributed by presenting the fact about the 2009 finals Magic top scorer being a Turkish player. And, if the Magic did not win that series, by logic, the top scorer probably wouldn't be the one to blame.

I can not see why some people would need to refer Ilyasova's being a Turk when they try to express their opinions. Is there something innately wrong with being a Turkish player, that they know? Express your basketball view or evaluation of the player's qualities and weaknesses instead of making stupid ethnical references. Nobody's forcing you to sign Ilyasova, it was just an opinion by somebody. And the basketball logic in coming up with that opinion can easily be seen in relation with such facts as Ilyasova putting up a 29 points +25 rebounds game, scoring 32 points against the strong-defense Chicago Bulls in another game. How many players do you happen to see in the Orlando Magic doing similar numbers these days? Only because you are not familiar with a player does not entitle you to speak negatively, without knowledge. And remember, last time the Orlando Magic was in the NBA finals, it was a Turkish player that came out as the top scorer of the team from the NBA finals series against the Lakers, and that includes Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, Rashard and everybody else.

This team needs to be demolished. I get mad now when somebody mentions the probability of Howard staying. His situation is what is ruining this team. He truly wants out and he should be sent. Even if another five years were spent trying to strengthen the cast around him, it would not be any different from today. The Nuggets have become a better team after trading Carmelo away; The Magic should seek a similar trading success and create a cast consisting of players who will be happy playing in Orlando. This year is lost.

Hi all, new member here (long time Magic fan, from Turkey). I believe The Lakers are desperate to get Howard. At present they are hopeless; there are at least 7-8 teams in the NBA which could oust them in the playoffs (unless Metta would pick up his great game of course...:)) The Lakers SHOULD offer Bynum + Gasol for Howard. I really can't see what other plan they can develop, other than acquiring Howard, to get out of their present doomed situation. Unless they do that, all we'll be seeing from The Lakers the next couple of years will be Kobe repeatedly doing his 40 points per game show, taking 35 shots, and The Lakers losing the games against strong teams...