Darrell Armstrong

Discussion in 'Orlando Magic' started by Ice, Jul 20, 2003.

  1. Ice

    Ice JBB Member

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    He is leaving the magic [​IMG] ...But I agree with this article.
    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/bask...,1285554.column

    There should have been a huge news conference. There should have been cheers and tears. There should have been a Darrell Armstrong Day.

    Instead there is this: Armstrong tells the Sentinel's Brian Schmitz on Saturday he is leaving the Magic, he is angry at the coach and the team has been "disrespectful" to him. Not exactly the way you would have written the emotional farewell scene. You just don't want the hero taking parting shots, especially when one of them lands on a police officer.

    Armstrong, the most beloved player in the history of a franchise, says the Magic have told him they will not offer him a new contract. You know the drill by now. The Magic will issue a news release in a few days thanking Darrell for his contributions and saying, "We decided to go in a different direction."

    Translation: Darrell's too old, too small and too expensive.

    And, so, this is how it ends. Badly and sadly. As always.

    Say goodbye to Heart and Hustle. Say hello to Heartless and Soulless.

    Go ahead and get angry if you want. Me? I can't even work up a good, healthy defiance about the lack of loyalty in sports anymore. I no longer get mad about these things; I just get bored.

    All you need to know is this: Emmitt Smith is playing for the Arizona Cardinals.

    And we're supposed to be irate because Armstrong, an undersized, overachieving point guard for a .500 basketball team, might be playing for the Hawks next year? Sorry, I'll pass.

    Bless Darrell for what he has meant to the Magic. Nobody played harder. Nobody represented the team better. But you know what? Maybe it was time for him to move on.

    He admits he wasn't happy as a substitute last year. He wanted to play more. He wanted a bigger role and a bigger contract. He and Coach Doc Rivers obviously weren't on the same page. If Tracy McGrady complains, he gets the coach fired. If Darrell Armstrong complains, he gets himself fired.

    There seems to be this sentiment that the Magic owed Darrell a contract just because of what he's meant to the team and the city. That's inane. They owe him nothing -- not when his last contract was worth $18 million. The Magic found Darrell in the minor leagues and turned him into a multimillionaire. I don't care how many times he skinned his knees or scraped his elbows; he still got the best end of the deal.

    You know who the Magic owe? They owe the fans the best point guard they can get for the least amount of money -- period. There is no room for sentimentality. If you want proof, just travel a few miles down the road to Disney's Wide World of Sports, where the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Bucs opened training camp Saturday.

    The main topic of conversation at Bucs camp is whether this will be the last year in Tampa for superstar defensive tackle Warren Sapp -- the name, the face and mouth that the championship was built around. He is Mr. Buc, much more so than Armstrong is Mr. Magic.

    But nobody will be shocked if the Bucs let Sapp go because that's the way the Bucs do business -- cold and cutthroat. If Sapp's price tag is too high, GM Rich McKay will let Mr. Buc walk just as he let former Mr. Buc (Hardy Nickerson) walk. The Bucs laugh at loyalty. Which isn't the way it should be, but the way it has to be.

    That's how it works today in pro sports. You pay one guy until you find another guy who's younger, better and cheaper. The name of the game is to win championships, not popularity polls.

    "You have to make hard decisions," McKay told me once. "You have to make decisions realizing that when you pick up the newspaper in the morning, you're probably going to get ripped."

    There will be no rippage here this morning, just a pang of regret for the way Orlando's favorite player is going out.

    True, the Magic don't owe Darrell Armstrong anything.

    Except a decent goodbye.
     
  2. DirtySouth

    DirtySouth JBB JustBBall Member

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    Darrell will be missed for sure.I hope they do retire his jersey.
     
  3. GatorsowntheNCAA

    GatorsowntheNCAA Omaha Bound 2010!

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    tough luck for the magic, i was hoping he'd be back, but i agree with the article also in that he should leave if he doesn't want what we offer. good luck to darell.
     

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