Do you think Orlando could of made the playoffs if they drafted Okafor instead? I do cuz Okafor is so much more ready and is a blocking machine. IMO, Okafor will be better than Howard. What do the Magic fans think?
I think that they wouldn't have made the playoffs either way. I think that Dwight was the better person for this team. I mean he is talented and is alot younger.
No, I don't think they would of mad ethe playoffs, like Manch Candid said Dwight is the the better person for the team. You actually think Okafor will have a better career than D12, wow. Dwight will be a beast for years to come, I highly doubt Emeka will be better than Dwight.
Well as the line says ?Thou can not hope to move forward by dwelling on the past?. That is the stand I take on this issue, but since the question has been posed I will make some contribution to this thread lol. I feel as though Okafor would have helped the team, but not made it a playoff contender. Okafor averaged similar statistics to Howard. However, Howard played all 82 games of the regular season unlike, Okafor who only played 73, yet he was not able to help the Magic even reach 40 wins. So who are we to say that Okafor would have been able to do it in less games played with a few more points? Dwight also has a better future in the league over Okafor like I said in the Okafor vs. Howard thread. So I think the Magic made the right choice, by looking at the long run, and not the short-term thing. Dwight has shown the potential straight out of high school to be a healthy double double guy who can contribute to a NBA roster. It also makes you think how good he can really be I mean he averaged similar statistics to a NCAA champion and a player who played several years of college refining his game. This season will be the true season in which you begin to see who will have the better future. I mean during the last month of the season Dwight averaged 17 points and 13 rebounds under coach Jent who was utilizing him in the offense more than Johnny Davis did. So he showed to many that he can be a viable scoring threat as well as a factor on the board. In the end of the story I don?t think Okafor would have mad much of a difference. One of the things that the Magic lacked was defense in the backcourt. Something Okafor would not have provided them with. Unless they could have pulled off a better trade at the trade deadline for Mobley and gotten better defensive help while at the same time not losing size, and offensive talent. Then perhaps the 8th or 7th seed would have been within site, but I doubt that an Okafor for Howard exchange in the Magic lineup would have altered the roster make up by more than a few wins/loses.
At this point in their careers, Dwight Howard and Emeka Okafor are very similar players. Each are power forwards who can score, rebound and play defense effectively. I don't think the Magic would have made it to the postseason even if we drafted Emeka Okafor. Emeka Okafor has almost identical stats to Dwight Howard as the first option on the Bobcats so for him to change our playoff hopes is insane. Dwight started every single game last season in Orlando while Emeka had to sit out because of back injuries in Charlotte for 10 games. Emeka might be NBA ready but Dwight Howard isn't far behind. Another thing you said was that Emeka is a blocking machine. Sure he is a great defender but he isn't much better then Howard. Since Okafor won a championship at UConn and showed the nation his great defense, he has been marked as a great defender. Dwight's defense has went under the radar since he didn't get the same amount of attention in high school. If you look at the numbers, Emeka only averages .05 more blocks per game then Dwight. Howard also had 11 more Total Blocks then Emeka so you can argue they are almost equal when it comes to defense. Since there is no clear advantage, you can't say that Emeka's defense would have gotten us to the playoffs. Each player is going to have successful careers but I think Howard is going to be the better player. Emeka Okafor is a what you see is what you get type of player. Dwight on the other hand, is very young and is only going to get better as he becomes more experienced and more involved in the offense. More then just one person was at fault for the Magic missing the playoffs so one player wouldn't have pushed them into the postseason either.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting J_Ray:</div><div class="quote_post">Do you think Orlando could of made the playoffs if they drafted Okafor instead? I do cuz Okafor is so much more ready and is a blocking machine. IMO, Okafor will be better than Howard.</div> We've some great posters here at the Magic forum and they said already nearly everything, so it's worth reading their answers and if you're that convinced with your opinion you should tell us why you think Okafor will be better than Howard. And I want to see you prove your points here since after what has already been said, your points are pretty weak. To make it short: I believe Dwight was the perfect fit for our team and Okafor was the perfect fit for Charlotte, it wouldn't have worked vice versa.
Okarfor got more touches and was the number one option on the floor, thus he had better stats. Howard on the other hand barely got involved in the Magic offence since Steve and Grant were getting the most posessions. If Dwight was in Charlotte instead of Okafor, I would think that Howard would have won the rookie of the year, and he might've had even better stats than Okafor.
Weisbrod picking the HSer Howard over the proven 3 year college big at UConn, Emeka, is what was one of the last deciding factors in T-Mac leaving. Even if he hated Weisbrod, choosing Emeka would of helped T-Mac situation and they would of had a solid starting 5 of: PG Jameer Nelson SG Tracy McGrady SF Grant Hill PF Emeka Okafor -C Tony Battie I believe that team could of made the playoffs but I believe the right decision was to select Howard, and that's what it ultimately comes down to. He'll be a superstar in a few years, no question about that.
I honestly think that Dwight had a better season in a Magic uniform then Okafor would have. I say this because Dwight got most of his pts by crashing the boards and not getting many set shot attempts. Okafor is more of a set scorer, rather than going up and getting all the boards. Dwight will be better, he had a far more amazing season then Okafor did. He set a couple of records.... -Dwight was the first HS player to ever avg a double double(well maybe Moses Malone did that too, but first HS player in the last 15-20 years or so) in his rookie year. -Dwight was the first HS player to ever start in all 82 games of his rookie year. This shows how durable that this kid is. He shows how hard he is working because of his desire to become the best. How many 2nd year players(after finishing top 3 in ROY) have decided to play the summer league to get game situations(even though it is against weaker talent, it's stil lgame situations). Dwight is much younger and is still very raw, which is why it's scary. Okafor had a couple more pts(on like 6 more shot attempts), with maybe 1 rebound and .5 of a block more, but Okafor was "by far the most NBA ready of the 2". Dwight Howard is going to be the face of the league(well with Lebron, Amare, Wade) in a couple of years and will be an elite player. I'm just hoping we can get him some talent around him so that he will decide to stay with us. About your comment Banks, Tmac was getting dealt regardless. Tmac would not have signed an extension with the club by just getting 2 unproven rookies after that horrible season last year. The only way he wouldn't have been traded was if they agreed on a contract extension.
I don't think we could of made the playoffs if we picked Okafor, and i'm glad we didn't pick him. After all the stuff evreyone pointed out about Howard being better than Okafor, I decided to compare stats. Here's what I found: Dwight Howard: Field Goal Percentage - .520 Free Throw Percentage - .671 Steals Per Game - .94 Minutes Per Game - 32.6 Emeka Okafor: Field Goal Percentage - .447 Free Throw Percentage - .609 Steals Per Game - .85 Minutes Per Game - 35.6 As people have said before, in Charlotte, Emeka was the number one scoring option so he got a lot more shot attempts. Here in Orlando, Steve and Grant and Cuttino were our scoring options under Coach Davis until Cuttino got traded and Davis was fired, which is when a new coach took over and let Dwight shine. When our new coach took over, someone said Dwight Put up numbers like 17ppg and 13rpg.
Keep McGrady+draft Okafor= playoffs That's how I see it. The Magic could have rebounded from the last place year with Mac and Meka, and once they did then it would be very possible that T-Mac would end up re signing anyways. I think Weisbrod messed it up for the Magic. But I'm not saying Dwight Howard was a bad pick, I just think drafting Okafor would have been a better one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting B-22:</div><div class="quote_post">Keep McGrady+draft Okafor= playoffs That's how I see it. The Magic could have rebounded from the last place year with Mac and Meka, and once they did then it would be very possible that T-Mac would end up re signing anyways. I think Weisbrod messed it up for the Magic. But I'm not saying Dwight Howard was a bad pick, I just think drafting Okafor would have been a better one.</div> Tracy McGrady was already unhappy with the team and would have left even if we drafted Emeka Okafor. He didn't like the managment, his teamates or the organization as a whole. Okafor or no Okafor, Tracy McGrady would not haved stayed in Magic uniform for long.
Did everyone forget Tracy Mcgrady?s comments about Weisbord after the trade? The bad blood in between these two had already ascended to a level beyond business. During the time no one could have foreseen that Weisbord would resign at the end of the year. So many figured Mcgrady would have wanted out no matter what. The Magic were quick to pull off a deal for Mcgrady because they did not want another Shaquille situation to happen. Also I may be wrong, but didn?t Tracy request we traded the pick for veterans, and that would have been the only way he would have dropped his trade request?
Considering the small amount of touches that dwight had during the season, that is the only reason DH didn't get rookie of the year. okafur played 35 minutes vs dwight's 32, and during both of their playing time, ok-man was higher up on the Option list than dwight. If okafur played on the magic he would get the same touches, minutes, and coach and ben gordan or dwight with charlotte would have gotten ROTY. Don't dwell in the past, im tired of hearing what if mobley..., what if okafur..., what if t-mac even... Dwight howard will become much more than okafur will ever become and he is only 19.
Since Okafor and Howard put up similar stats last year, I don't think it really would have mattered if the Magic had Okafor last season rather than Howard. Part of the reason Okafor put up the numbers he did last season is because he played in Charlotte and was the 1st scoring option. In Orlando he would probably be the 3rd. If Howard played in Charlotte he would be the 1st scoring option and would most likely have put up much better numbers than Okafor did in Charlotte.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MiamiBalla12:</div><div class="quote_post">Since Okafor and Howard put up similar stats last year, I don't think it really would have mattered if the Magic had Okafor last season rather than Howard. Part of the reason Okafor put up the numbers he did last season is because he played in Charlotte and was the 1st scoring option. In Orlando he would probably be the 3rd. If Howard played in Charlotte he would be the 1st scoring option and would most likely have put up much better numbers than Okafor did in Charlotte.</div> Exactly, its tough to compare the two since they had different roles. Also theyre very similar and they have both proved to be Monsters downlow already, and they have also proved they have a lot of potential. IMO Howard or Okafor i still dont think they would have made it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">Tracy McGrady was already unhappy with the team and would have left even if we drafted Emeka Okafor. He didn't like the managment, his teamates or the organization as a whole. Okafor or no Okafor, Tracy McGrady would not haved stayed in Magic uniform for long.</div> Well how do we know? McGrady left the Magic because Weisbrod was an a$$, really do you think T woke up one day and said, I don't want to play for the Magic anymore. McGrady didn't want to be a part of a rebounding process, and thats why he looked to leave. If the Magic would have gotten some help in Orlando he could have possibly stayed. Or even if they waited out till the trade deadline of last year they could have seen that Grant Hill finally made a recovery and became an all star.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting B-22:</div><div class="quote_post">Well how do we know? McGrady left the Magic because Weisbrod was an a$$, really do you think T woke up one day and said, I don't want to play for the Magic anymore. McGrady didn't want to be a part of a rebounding process, and thats why he looked to leave. If the Magic would have gotten some help in Orlando he could have possibly stayed. Or even if they waited out till the trade deadline of last year they could have seen that Grant Hill finally made a recovery and became an all star.</div> You make some great points, but at the same time you have to understand the position the Magic took on this matter. Let?s say they would have waited until the trade deadline like you suggested, and the offers that they were originally getting were not on the table. Only mediocre offers so they decided to old on the Tracy in an effort to resign him in the off-season, but then he did not resign, and just simply left. They would have had another Shaquille O?Neal situation, and would have been heavily criticized even more. I still believe the Magic made the right choice, by getting rid of Tracy when they did. However, did they pick the right trade is the question. They had an offer from the Phoenix Suns for either Shawn Marion or Amare Stoudamire, but they wanted both, and the Suns were not willing to part with both. So they went with the Rockets offer for Francis, Mobley, and Cato instead. A front line of Howard, Amare, and Hill would have been incredible, it would also have allowed them to start Nelson earlier in the season, and further develop him. They could have had a Nelson and Stevenson back court. Though Stevenson is not the greatest player with the front court they would have had they would not have been in much of a demand for backcourt scoring from Stevenson. Back to the Tracy situation I felt like Tracy and the organization put all their cards on the table. Unfortunately, the Magic read the wrong hand, and pulled the wrong trigger, but one thing I am sure of is that they did it at the right time. Who knows what offer would have been on the table at the deadline.
Basically like BKS said, if teams knew we were desperate to trade him at the trade deadline, we would have gotten a much worse deal. The trade value for TMac was the highest in the offseason. We did the right thing with that trade. I wish we still had Tmac, but I would much rather have Francis and Cato then nothing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting B-22:</div><div class="quote_post">Keep McGrady+draft Okafor= playoffs That's how I see it. The Magic could have rebounded from the last place year with Mac and Meka, and once they did then it would be very possible that T-Mac would end up re signing anyways. I think Weisbrod messed it up for the Magic. But I'm not saying Dwight Howard was a bad pick, I just think drafting Okafor would have been a better one.</div> Finally, I'm going to argue this. T-Mac wanted immediate success, success also in terms of advancing in the playoffs. He was sick of being mediocre and he was sick of his teammates, not speaking of sick of this management that didn't surround him with capable players, T. Lue and J. Howard. There was no way in hell that this would've changed in just one season and with just drafting Okafor and T-Mac would be gone by now without getting anything in return, just like Shaq. Basically, they ruined it with T-Mac during the offseason before then, with drafting Reece Gaines (= Sasser 2), letting Armstrong go and bringing in J. Howard and T. Lue.
