MVN - Most Valuable Network

Grant Hill might be done in Orlando

I was working out this morning when I overheard a local news station talking about Grant Hill and that he has narrowed the possible teams he will play for next season down to five teams… and the Orlando Magic isn’t on that list.

More credible sources such as The Orlando Sentinel or ESPN have yet to break that news, so for now it is only speculation, but for speculation sake, lets look at the personel ramifications this would bring to Hill and his relationship with at least Orlando, if not other people around the nation.

The story of Hill is way to familiar with Magic fans, and is a cautionary tale for NBA teams all across the league of what can go wrong. When playing in Detroit, Hill was dubbed the next Michael Jordan, as he played with grace and had an uncanny ability to always put himself or teammates in the right position. In the 2000 playoffs, Hill played on a severely sprained ankle that never heeled. The Magic took a risk in the off-season and signed Hill to a 7-year, $93 million contract via sign and trade. Hill was supposed to team with the newly acquired Tracy McGrady, but his ankle remained a pestering problem.

In the next six seasons, Hill would go on to play in just 200 games (out of 492) because of his ankle injury, along with a sports hernia and several other bizzare injuries, including a staph infection that almost killed him.

I can remember buying NBA Live when Hill first came to the Magic, playing the franchise mode and the Magic winning the championship three years in a row. Sports Illustrated had the Magic being the best team in the East that season, as the McGrady-Hill duo was supposed to dominate for years to come.

That never happened obviously, as Hill couldn’t stay on the court more than 40% of the time, and McGrady (who turned into one of the best offensive players in the league) became frustrated with a lack of support, as the Magic couldn’t add much help due to Hill’s enormous salary, and demanded a trade.

It is a painful story for all NBA teams and fans, maybe except for the Pistons who reaped the rewards as Ben Wallace, who they acquired in the Hill trade, turned out to be one of the best defensive players in the NBA over the next several seasons as he led the Pistons to a NBA Championship. The injuries were not Hill’s fault obviously and it is awful to have seen a once promising career go array due to unfortunate circumstances. However, Hill has a chance to make things right with Orlando, a franchise that he crippled (no pun intended) for more then half a decade.

As a free-agent, Hill’s enormous salary will come off the books and give the Magic a chance to sign a pretty good player. Where Hill could help the team even more is if he re-signs a minimum contract, providing leadership and a nice amount of skill at a low rate. It is the least he could do after putting the franchise back another six seasons, causing them to rebuild again.

However, it appears unlikely that he will do that. Hill’s name has been associated with Phoenix, as well as Detroit and several other perennial powers.

Hill didn’t ask for things to go the way they did, but he is blowing his chance to make things right. Re-signing with Orlando may not put him with a legit contender, at least not this year, but it would validate all the people who have claimed Hill to be one of the classiest players in league history.

If Hill retires, that is one thing, but if he goes to new team, that is quite another. Maybe the Magic Front Office or new coach, Stan Van Gundy, have told Hill they don’t want him back, but that is unlikely.  Again, this is still speculation, but it seems that if Hill does leave, it will be on his own accord, and if that is the case, in my opinion it would appear to be one of the most selfish acts the franchise has ever witnessed. Hill has been the epitome of classiness during his tumultuous years with the Magic, and I hope he can one day win a NBA Title, but I feel his loyalty should be to the Magic and the city of Orlando, who invested so much in Hill and never experienced the true benefits that Hill could have offered.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 at 11:47 am and is filed under Latest News, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.