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Marcin Gortat: What was going through your mind going from being number one in Orlando to the Lakers where you're going to be number two. Dwight Howard: I was excited. I didn't even look at it as being one or two. That wasn't even my goal. Like coming into the team, I'm looking at it like, okay, I'm the youngest out of all the vets that I'm seeing. I see Kobe, Steve Nash, Gasol, Antawn Jamison… So for me, I'm looking at Kobe like, ‘All right, how much can I learn from him and the rest of these guys?’ Because obviously I feel like they're going to be closer to retirement than I am at this time in my career. So how can I learn from Kobe? How can I learn from Steve? What can I get from these guys? But at the time, I feel like, I wasn't getting anything. I don't know if they were thinking I wanted the ball every play or they were worried about what was being said. But I came in with the attitude like, I know Kobe going to have to get his plays, but we got Steve Nash, me and him going to get into pick and rolls because that's what me and him do best is to pick and roll action. Then we got Kobe who's the closer. So, I'm not tripping. But I think the media start twisting and turning every little situation into, oh man, they don't like each other, this, that, and the third. And I'm like, how can I not?
Q. When did it hit you, like ‘He's different’. Byron Scott: I met Kobe Bryant at the rookie transitional program in Orlando. They gave me Kobe as one of my rookies. This rookie program that they was trying to show all these rookies how to save their money, how to invest their money and things like that, and what to watch out for in the league and all this stuff. So, I was waiting for a week before I met him on the basketball court when I came with the Lakers. So, the first month of watching him on the basketball court, I said, ‘Yeah, this kid is different.’ Cuz I never seen an 18-year-old that dedicated. And I mean he's there two hours before practice. He was there sometimes waiting on Gary Vitty to open up just so he can get dressed and go on the court and shoot.
Darko Milicic: I spent my whole life fighting against both opponents and prejudices. In Orlando, it happened 100 times—I’m a 7-footer who can rise up and shoot, but while I’m in the middle of taking a shot, the coach is screaming 'Down to Dwight! Down to Dwight!' I was subbed out a hundred times for it. I would shoot and score, then turn around and say, 'Forget Dwight, sub me out then!' How do you play with confidence when the coach is yelling at you while you are taking the shot? Dwight never leaves the paint; if he does, some tragedy happens. I couldn't believe they couldn't recognize that I could play on the perimeter and bring a new dimension to the game. It was ugly and unprofessional for a coach to scream at a player during a shot, especially a young one trying to find his way.
Darko Milicic: Orlando was a great period for me initially because I actually got to play. After a good stretch, the team actually offered me a $44 million contract over four years. I would have accepted it without even thinking about the money because I liked it there. But then, they suddenly pulled the offer. They said they were 'afraid' because my 'head wasn't stable.' They offered it and then they played with my head by taking it away. I stayed and played the next season quite well, and the coach told me at the exit meeting that the season wouldn't even start without me. But then he got fired, Stan Van Gundy came in, and he didn't want to see my face on a postage stamp. He wanted to 'exorcise' the gym because my name was on the roster. It’s fascinating how quickly a new coach can decide you have zero value.
Darko Milicic: When things ended in Orlando, I told my manager, 'Brother, send me anywhere but Memphis.' I knew Memphis was a 'shack'—a total tragedy for a player's career. Twenty days later, he calls me and says, 'You only have Memphis.' I said, 'Alright, if we are going down, let’s fall in style.' I went there and after a few games, I realized I couldn't live like that. The team was a disaster and I had to start making up injuries, like lower back pain, just to cope with the reality of being there. I had other offers, like a one-year deal in Philadelphia for $8 million, but I chose the three-year 'guaranteed' pile of money in Memphis out of a sense of security. I wasn't thinking realistically; I was just looking for a way to survive the 'bugs' in my own head and ensure my future.
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There was a school of thought that Boston would look to shed salary at the deadline. But the Celtics have been taking the opposite approach recently, looking for ways to improve their roster. As others have noted, the Celtics have talked to teams about deals that would improve their front line. Also worth watching: what happens in Orlando. Goga Bitadze has been a DNP-CD in the past three games. New York had strong interest in Bitadze last offseason. The Knicks have had interest in New Orleans’ Yves Missi. If Orlando makes Bitadze available ahead of the deadline, logic tells you the Knicks would at least check in with the Magic.
Sources across the league strongly believe that Orlando, which is about $5 million into the luxury tax, will make a move to get under. Moving on from guard Tyus Jones' expiring $7 million deal would solve that, but not the massive money crunch coming next season, when Banchero's extension kicks in. (The Magic are already projected to be well into the luxury tax in 2026-27 with just 10 players on the roster.) And if Orlando doesn't move on from Jonathan Isaac's non-guaranteed deal, it will be a second apron team.
Danny Cunningham: #Cavs beat the Magic 114-98 thanks in large part to Donovan Mitchell's 45-point outburst. Second win over Orlando in three days and fourth straight win for Cleveland. Cavs have now won 11 of 15 and move to 28-20 on the season.
Dan Savage: Since the start of last season, the trio of Paolo, Franz and Suggs have played in only 17 of the @OrlandoMagic ’s 126 regular season games together - just 13.5% of the time. In the 136 mins they’ve been on the court together this season, Orlando is shooting 52.2% FG & 38.3% 3PTs.
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Rod Boone: LaMelo (right humb contusion) is questionable for tonight's game in Orlando. Brandon Miller (left ankle soreness) is probable. Tre Mann (illness) is out.
