“Superman” or “Baby Boy”
Newton’s law of motion states, “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction”. So now, to prove this theory, we have the Orlando Magic going through the motions, with a sideshow of Dwight Howard vs Stan Van Gundy. For years, the NBA thrived on owners locking players into long contracts they outplayed, and now it’s the players that, in essence, control the league. Players like Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd, LeBron James, and others who have either forced a trade from their team, or have forced their team to fire their coach. Yes these situations are few and far between, but it is becoming an epidemic around the league and sets a bad example for the other 99% of players in the league.
“One bad apple spoils the bunch.” If Dwight Howard does in fact want Van Gundy fired, and get’s his way, then what is the point of hiring a coach to run a team that he has no control over? Van Gundy isn’t a bad coach, he has won 52 games 5 out of 7 seasons that he’s coached an 82 game season. He has never coached a losing season, a feat that was accomplished despite Pat Riley taking over early in the ’05-’06 season when the Miami Heat won the title. He’s also in the process of coaching another winning season this year, but that may be in jeopardy. I don’t believe the team has quit on him, so much as I think the rift between the two is causing players to choose sides in the matter. Chemistry is everything to a team, and a team divided is a team defeated.
I get that some coaches just don’t fit a team, but when it’s one player that doesn’t fit what do you do? Star power tends to blind us to the fact that a player may be poisonous to a team. Latrell Sprewell is a prime example. A player with great talent that was a cancer to the team. Team owners need to stand by good coaches despite what their superstar players say. Phil Jackson, Chuck Daley, and Greg Popovich were all once rookie coaches. Where would their respective teams be had Jordan, Thomas, and Duncan asked for their dismissal? If owners haven’t learned from Cleveland, and the handling of LeBron James, then expect an increasing list of demands from superstar players. These unreasonable and childish demands have to end.
