<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>It became all the rage last season to rip former Magic coach Brian Hill for not maximizing the personnel on the team's roster. There were Web sites calling for his ouster, fans and media who tore him apart for not developing the Magic's young talent. Hill supposedly was fired, in part, because he clashed with General Manager Otis Smith on some of the key components provided by Smith and the Magic's personnel department. Which is why it seemed a bit ironic when Hill, now an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets, made his return to Amway Arena earlier this week and saw evidence that some of his unpopular personnel assessments are turning out to be frighteningly accurate. For instance: *1. One of the main reasons Hill supposedly was fired is because No. 1 draft choice J.J. Redick couldn't get into Hill's playing rotation last season. Guess what? Here we are nearly halfway through this season, and Redick can't get into new Coach Stan Van Gundy's playing rotation, either. *2. Hill wouldn't start Darko Milicic because he thought Darko was too lazy, too soft and too inconsistent. Guess what? After Hill was fired, Darko signed a lucrative deal with Memphis, where he is averaging 6.6 points and 5.7 rebounds and has been a major disappointment because he is considered too lazy, too soft and too inconsistent. *3. Hill questioned whether Jameer Nelson was a championship-caliber starting point guard. Guess what? Van Gundy has benched Nelson because, so far this season, he hasn't been a championship-caliber starting point guard. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the Magic would be 22-12 if Brian Hill were still coaching them. In fact, they'd probably be 12-22. For one reason and one reason only: Dwight Howard likes playing for Van Gundy, and he didn't like playing for Hill. And, really, that's the one and only reason Van Gundy is here and Hill isn't. The reason I bring this up is because I've always been curious about the weird circumstances involving Hill's firing after last season. Hill himself has refused consistently to comment about the specifics of his dismissal, telling the Sentinel again Wednesday night, "I'm not going to get into that." But it took only five words from Dwight on Thursday to finally unearth the real truth. Dwight confirmed that Magic management consulted with him before making the decision to fire Hill. And here is Dwight's assessment of Hill's dismissal: "I was cool with it." Riddle solved. Those five words doomed Brian Hill. Think about it. If Dwight had said, "I'm NOT cool with it," does anybody think the Magic would have had the audacity to fire Hill? Of course not. As it turns out, the Great Brian Hill Mystery was no mystery at all. He was fired for the same reason most NBA coaches lose their jobs: Because their star players quit paying attention to them. It happened to Hill last time he coached the Magic when he lost the confidence of Shaq and Penny. It happened with Van Gundy in Miami when he supposedly lost the support of Shaq. It just happened with Scott Skiles in Chicago, where pretty much the entire team despised playing for its coach. "You have to like your coach," Howard confirms. "I think that's very important. It's hard to be around somebody all the time if you don't like them." Howard will not come right out and say that he disliked playing for the strictly regimented, oft-inflexible Hill, but it's very clear that he is responding much better to Van Gundy's more freewheeling style. And let's not forget Howard's quote when it appeared the Magic had hired Billy Donovan to replace Hill. Said Howard then: "Basketball is going to be fun again here." Translation: Basketball wasn't fun under Hill. Former Magic and Pistons coach Chuck Daly put it best a few years ago when he said of the NBA: "It's a player's league. The players allow you to coach them or they don't. Once they stop allowing you to coach, you're on your way out." So there you have it -- the real reason Brian Hill was fired. Not because of the development of J.J. or Jameer, but because of the development of the only player whose disenchantment is non-negotiable. When Smith fired Hill, he made the only decision humanly possible. And make no mistake about it, every major move this franchise makes over the next several years will be determined by asking one very simple question: Is Dwight cool with it?</div> Source: Orlando Sentinel
