In sports, there are the games on the field, but in professional sports, there are also games off the field. The best organizations are the best largely because of a culture that starts at the top and makes its way all the way to the end of the bench.
The Orlando Magic are currently in “halftime” of a game more compelling at times than the actual games being played nightly on the court. If this were a game – inside the locker room they would be discussing how to keep Dwight Howard, a continually emerging star in the league, long-term. “That’s the big question,” Pat Williams, Orlando Magic vice president, told 110SportsPodcast.com in an extensive interview earlier this week.
“We took a lot of pressure off when he agreed to pick up his option for next year, so that got this year settled down,” Williams added. “We’ve got to figure out a long-term solution to the Dwight Howard issue and that makes for a very busy offseason. Hopefully, we have a good run in the playoffs which would be very important, and then we’ll see what the draft brings.
“I think Dwight’s watching very closely to what kind of a team he will have.” Orlando currently sits in third place in the East and is a team that may only be a piece away from being a contender for a title. Can the Magic though find the right ingredient to help the team? No one really knows. Not even inside the organization. Remember, we’re still in halftime. In the meantime, living in Florida with no state income taxes, great weather, Disney World and a new arena doesn’t sound too bad either.
“We don’t have an answer now, but long-term we got to get this done.”
– For the full interview with Pat Williams listen to Episode 148 on 110SportsPodcast.com.
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110SportsPodcast.com features a weekly sports podcast and daily blogging. Episodes include interviews, entertainment, comedy, insight and analysis.
