Story time. I fell in love with the Magic in ‘96, when I was 10. There was something about the jerseys, sure. But mainly I idolised @Iam1Cent. I covered my room in his posters, bought his jerseys with my lawn mowing money. I dreamed of one day watching a game in Orlando.
If this post makes you want to see that work by Jean Fouquet in real life, you can check it out at the KMSKA in Antwerp — just around the corner from where I work!
Today is #VEDay: did you know the famous V-sign was actually proposed by Belgian politician Victor de Laveleye in 1941 as it stood for Victoire in French and Vrijheid in Dutch. The sign was picked up by Churchill.
Statement from Jamahl Mosley:
“It has been an incredible five-plus years, and this organization and city will always mean so much to me and my family. In my heart, I truly hope that during our time here we were able to impact the players, staff, and the Magic organization in a meaningful and lasting way. I want to sincerely thank the DeVos family for the extraordinary opportunity to serve as head coach of the Orlando Magic. To our fans, there is nothing but love in my heart. The joy I had coaching this team, in this city, for the people who live here is something I will never forget. All I ever wanted was to make you proud to be Magic fans, and my journey here will certainly stay with me forever.”
Like clockwork 😂 A coach got fired? Let’s publish a locker room story and throw in something about the disgruntled star player.
I can pull better reporting out of my ass.
Was told by a very good source that Orlando's locker room was a mess and Mosley had no control. He wasn't going to survive even if Magic got past Detroit. There's a major Banchero problem. Donovan would walk into a very talented but dysfunctional circus.
It needed to happen. But Mose has done great things in Orlando. He'll always be the architect of those first, exciting years with Paolo, Franz, Cole... The sky was the limit, and we were full of hope.
I wish Mose all the best.
Why did the Magic's postseason end in the first round? Injuries? Roster construction? Coaching? The answer: all of the above. A consequential offseason is likely to begin with Jamahl Mosley losing his job. Here's my analysis in @TheAthletic, free to all:
nytimes.com/athletic/7251029…
In 2003, I was 18 and followed games through laggy text updates on NBA.com. After the loss against DET, I was so messed up I wrote a very angry email to @BianchiWrites 😅
Now I'm 40. This Magic team is going to continue pissing me off for the rest of my life.
Mose in the presser talking like he knows he's done. Expresses gratitude towards his players.
I'm glad he's gone, but he's a standup guy. I hope he finds a good, new home.
Why do we do this, man? Why do we invest time, money and emotions in this trash? Why aren't I asleep right now? Why did I let Friday night crush my soul, when I could've just been out, having fun, like normal people?
We've already wasted a couple of great Paolo years. We've squandered two play-off series (the Boston one deserves some grace). How long can we keep doing this before MAJOR changes are made?
Yeah, we were one healthy calf away from winning this series. And that's what Weltman will say, and Mose. But fuck that, we could've won this regardless. There's just no excuse for pissing away a 3-1 lead.
WCJ was good for a couple of games, so was Bane. Paolo had a rough one, but was stellar for the most part. Franz was good but got injured again.
Of the starting five, there's only one guy that consistently failed to show up this series. Jalen Suggs.
So of course, no decision this off season is more important than picking a new coach. But if you can ship off Suggs and bring in a durable, high IQ point guard, I wouldn't mind it.