It has been revealed that Kandi was all set to sign with us for the IE but when we didn't get it........he turned to Minny. Sad day in Magic history..... Here is the article for The Orlando Sentinal: Is this Dr. Katz? Pause. "Yes it is." Are you the doctor who determined the Magic couldn't get the injury exception for Grant Hill? Pause. "I can't talk about anything I do with the NBA." Can you at least tell me if I have the right guy? "I can't tell you that, either." Click. This was an actual telephone conversation I had Thursday with a man named Dr. Lawrence Katz, an orthopedic specialist in New Jersey. According to sources, he is Orlando's Doctor Evil -- the man who turned down the Magic's request for a Grant Hill injury exception; the man whose single, silent determination may have cost the Magic a chance at making a real run at the Eastern Conference championship next season. After the news conference earlier this week announcing the signing of free-agent power forward Juwan Howard, Magic Coach Doc Rivers, obviously perturbed with the NBA's ruling, revealed a potential blockbuster deal GM John Gabriel was close to working out. "If we had gotten that exception, there's a chance we'd be sitting here today with Juwan Howard and Michael Olowokandi," Rivers said. Olowokandi is an athletic 7-foot, 270-pounder -- the bargain big man that would have not only fit perfectly in the Magic's height-starved lineup but also under their cash-strapped salary cap. Olowokandi signed a three-year, $16 million deal with Minnesota on Wednesday -- a deal the Magic could have afforded if they'd received the injury exception they rightfully deserved. The NBA and its league-appointed doctor owe the fans of Orlando an explanation. Please explain to the people here who fork out thousands of dollars for season tickets how Grant Hill, of all people, doesn't deserve an injury exception. What exactly does Hill have to do to prove he cannot play -- show up at the NBA office with mad-cow disease, a wooden leg and accompanied by Sparky, his new Seeing Eye dog? And what are we supposed to make of this explanation from NBA spokesperson Tim Frank, who told me Thursday that the league-appointed doctor "doesn't consider what's happened in the past, only on whether he thinks Grant has a chance of playing this season." I'm no doctor, but how can you not take medical history into consideration here? Three years, three surgeries, three times Hill has been out for the year. Now, Hill has had a fourth surgery -- a more radical procedure where surgeons broke his heel and realigned his leg -- and, suddenly, some anonymous sawbones is telling us Hill just has a flesh wound. Pour some whisky on it and get out on the floor, son. We can only surmise that the NBA's doctor made a determination based on the glowing prognosis of Hill's surgeon, Dr. Richard Nunley, who said the operation was a resounding success and Hill will be playing in no time. Question: When was the last time you heard a surgeon say, "Not my best work. This guy's done." This is an injustice to the fans who have footed Hill's bill for far too long. Commissioner David Stern ought to be ashamed of his league for this nebulous rule that is sometimes granted, sometimes not. Hill's injury situation is the most financially crippling in league history and his return is nowhere in sight. The Magic and their fans have forked over $36 million in salary to Hill and received absolutely nothing in return. And now they can't even get a lousy $4.9 million exception. Hey, Commissioner Stern, while you're up in New York waiting for LeBron James to save your league, you might want to look down here in Orlando once in awhile and do something to save our franchise.
and the pistons woulda been knocked out by the magic. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm no doctor, but how can you not take medical history into consideration here? Three years, three surgeries, three times Hill has been out for the year. Now, Hill has had a fourth surgery -- a more radical procedure where surgeons broke his heel and realigned his leg -- and, suddenly, some anonymous sawbones is telling us Hill just has a flesh wound. Pour some whisky on it and get out on the floor, son. </div> how do you not look at past injury history? the irony of it all though is that the guy that tested hill is from new jersey, so probably a net fan.
Don't bring the Pistons into this please...which i knew you would mention Really i don't see why they couldn't get the injury exception..considering how long hill has been out for...and likely won't ever return..
Ive asked doctors, and they say he will never play again. What i want to know is why we didnt get the 4.9 mil
the league hates us i guess. we never get the calls in the games and we didn't get the injury exception
we needed a pure center though. howard isn't a pure center, he will play it for us, but we needed someone like kandiman, who is tall and skilled and can dominate at center in the east. howard won't dominate the east centers.
we'll trade u straight up, kandi for howard. . kandi does fit our needs more, but the point is if the damn league gave us the measly 4.9 million dollar exception for the injured grant hill, we woulda had both kandi and howard and woulda been the favorites in the east.
