Magic suspend Francis indefinitely - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

I hate the Orlando Magic! There I said it. I have decided that I can no longer take the abuse that this team constantly heaps upon its fans and have decided to switch to being a Grizzlies fan. Now, being a Bucs fan I can say, without any doubt that I can take a lot of abuse but this team has gone too far over the years.

Here are my arguments:

Exhibit A: They lost Shaq!

Exhibit B: After losing Shaq they tried to clear so much space under the cap to get Tim Duncan that they destroyed a good team in the process.

Exhibit C: After Duncan said no thanks they signed a gimpy Grant Hill and Tracy Mcgrady. Hill has never worked out and they eventually ran McGrady out of town.

Exhibit D: Draft some punk named Vazquez from Spain who decides to not even show up!

Exhibit E: Here is the team that the Magic could have had, If they didn't try to get cute. If they Would have just held onto players they drafted and picked up cheap in free agency they would be sitting pretty.

Starters
PG Chauncey Billups (Picked up in free agency and then dumped in order to make room for Hill/McGrady)

This was the blockbuster trade that brought Chauncey to O-town.

SG Corey Maggete ( Magic traded for his rights during 2000 draft and then traded him after his rookie season to make room for Hill/Mcgrady)

Maggette showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie season, hey there's Gatling again!

C Ben Wallace ( Acquired from Washington in exchange for Ike Austin in '99 and then is a part of the sign and trade with Detroit for Hill.)

There's Big Ben on the bottom.

SF Mike Miller (Drafted by Magic. Was traded to the Grizzlies for Drew Gooden who is no longer on the team.)

Two of these guys are no longer on the team. The other looks really good in street clothes.

PF Dwight Howard ( We still have him! For now.)

A number 1 pick who is dominant force inside. No way they can mess this up.

Bench
Darrell Armstrong ( The Magic got rid of him after Doc rivers couldn't figure out he was a better point guard then Tyron Lue.)
Matt Harpring ( Drafted and then traded to Cleveland for Andrew Declerq!)
Brendan Haywood (Traded Micheal Doleac to Cleveland for his draft rights and then traded him to Washington for Laron Profit! This was fourteen days after the draft. Who the hell is Laron Profit?)
Pat Garrity ( Had to have one ND guy on this list. He is still a solid performer even if he is constantly injured.)
Hedu Turkolu (One of the few good free agent pick ups the team has made in the last few years. Which means they will probably trade him next week.)
Jameer Nelson (The team has held onto him so far.)
Doug Christie (Not sure why they got rid of him. He would be fun to have around solely for his wife's shenanigans.)

Look at that lineup. That is a contender. It makes sick just thinking of it. I know what your thinking. Your thinking that there is no way to keep this dream line up together. Your thinking that you could make a list like this for every NBA team. This is pobably true, the point I'm trying to make is that the Magic always make the wrong decisons. Every move they have made over the years has been incredible short sighted. After their cap clearing scheme blew up in their faces they have always tried to go for the quick fix in order to justify their high ticket prices. Since Duncan turned them down they have had no idead what to do. If they had had the foresight to keep Maggete and Wallace who everyone agreed at the time were going to be talents this team would be much better shape.

So those are my reasons for no longer being able to stick with this team. call me traitor if you will. My family moved to Orlando in 1987, the same year that the city was awarded a franchise. I remember the lean years. I remember jumping up and down when the Magic won the lottery for Shaq. I remember the pain of Nick Anderson missing those four free throws in the first game of the finals against Houston. I have a lot of good memories of the O-rena and of course the immortal Scott Skiles (I got into a screaming fight with Larry Legend that Skiles was a better point guard than Anfernee Hardway, we almost came to blows.) I used to stalk Jeff Turner when he was jogging in Winter Park. I hated Chip Carey and worshipped the Goose. So many memories. Alas, all those memories have to go away for I can fight no more forever to understand this team and the pain the insist on heaping upon me.

All time Magic transaction