At least according to ESPN The Magazine, I was spot on with my assessment last month that Brian Hill's act may be wearing thin in Orlando, though Magic GM Otis Smith would have you believe it's not true. From Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel:Magic General Manager Otis Smith on Wednesday discredited an item in the recent issue of ESPN The Magazine that said players unanimously wanted Coach Brian Hill replaced and that Hill has a poor relationship with star Dwight Howard. "It's not true," Smith said. An item in a notes column next to writer Chris Broussard's "NBA Insider" read, "Despite Magic GM Otis Smith's vow to keep coach Brian Hill, the players are unanimous in wanting him gone. Hill's relationship with star Dwight Howard turned irrevocably sour, a source says, when the coach told his center not to be late for the Monday practice after All-Star Weekend."It's Smith's job to paint a pretty picture of his team, so I'm going to take his assessment of the situation with a grain of salt. And when you look at what's going on with Orlando lately -- even the usually mild-mannered Grant Hill and steely (that works, right?) Darko Milicic have lashed out -- it's not exactly surprising that there might be dissension in the ranks.
The irony, of course, is that Brian Hill was brought back to Orlando as a way to fix past wrongs, when Penny Hardaway inspired a player mutiny back in 1997. Right about now, I'm thinking maybe it's not the players' fault.
