Otis Smith was walking through a Chicago airport unnoticed recently until I recognized him while changing flights.
NBA executives Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor can’t walk far in any airport in America without being stopped for an autograph. But during my conversation with the Orlando Magic’s new general manager, no one said anything to Smith.
That will change if the former Nugget spearheads the Magic into an NBA power.
“I’m not high-profile and I’ve never been high-profile, and never will the job be high-profile for me,” said Smith, who was promoted to GM from an assistant GM role last month. “As soon as I get beyond the draft and free agency, I can fade back into the woodwork.”
Smith’s young Magic came out of the woodwork at the end of the regular season, winning 16 of its last 22 games, including victories over San Antonio and Detroit. It wasn’t enough to make the playoffs, but it showed this is a team on the rise.
Leading the way for the Magic is arguably the NBA’s most promising young big man, 20-year-old Dwight Howard, who averaged 15.8 points and 12.5 rebounds. Two-time MVP guard Steve Nash of Phoenix said if he had to pick one young player at any position to be on his team in the future it would be teammate Amare Stoudemire, but Howard would be right behind.
“You’ve got something you can hang yourself on,” Smith said about Howard. “Dwight is still learning basketball.”
The Magic also has one of the NBA’s top young point guards, Jameer Nelson, thanks to the Nuggets, who sent him to the Magic in a 2004 draft-day trade. Other young talent includes center Darko Milicic, guard Keyon Dooling and forward Trevor Ariza. Orlando has the 11th pick in the draft and will have $11 million to $13 million to spend on a sexy free-agent class of 2007.
Considering how well Milicic played to finish the season, it would make sense to give him a contract extension this summer before competition arrives next year. Milicic’s agent, Marc Cornstein, said “if the economics work,” his client would like to sign an extension.
“Darko is very happy in Orlando,” Cornstein said. “This looks like a pretty ideal situation for him. He complements Dwight well. And the fact that Orlando could have these two in the frontcourt for the next 15 years playing together is a pretty exciting prospect.”
The Magic also has seven-time all-star Grant Hill, who has struggled to stay healthy. Although there has been speculation Hill may retire or demand a trade, Smith expects him to play for Orlando next season.
“Those people don’t know Grant,” Smith said. “I don’t see him playing for anyone else except the Magic.”
Smith played a major role in offseason moves a year ago, though he hadn’t yet been promoted. His boldest move was clearing salary by trading talented yet shoot-first guard Steve Francis and his big contract to New York. He does have one major knock against him for overseeing the drafting of Spanish forward Fran Vasquez with the 11th pick last year over the likes of Sean May, Danny Granger and Hakim Warrick. Vasquez opted to stay overseas, signing a four-year contract with Spain’s Girona.
“If this administration or this marketing team has a mark, it’s always going to be Vasquez,” Smith said. “I always tell people that if you’re depending on the 11th pick in the draft, then you’re a pretty bad team. We look at him as an asset regardless to whether he plays for us now or in the future or we use him in a trade somewhere.”
Smith quietly had a respectable NBA career, averaging 10.5 points with Denver, Golden State and Orlando in 375 games. He is probably best remembered for taking part in storied dunk contests with Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in the 1980s. While Smith will get the spotlight when the Magic becomes magical again, don’t expect the attention to change him.
“I’m the same person I was two years ago, three years ago, five years ago, 10 years ago,” Smith said. “I don’t necessarily see that changing. I eat at the Waffle House every day for breakfast, and that’s a consistent thing with me.”
Footnotes
Word is several NBA teams have offered junk deals for forward Kenyon Martin, but the Nuggets have laughed at each one. … One NBA scout described the overall talent at last week’s predraft camp in Orlando as “terrible” and said there were no first-round picks there. But the scout did say former UNLV forward Louis Amundson, a Boulder native, helped his stock. “He’s played well, rebounding, running the floor,” the scout said. Other players who helped themselves include UCLA guard Jordan Farmar, Oklahoma forward Taj Gray, Iowa State guard Will Blalock and South Carolina forward Renaldo Balkman. … One high-level Western Conference executive on ex-University of Denver center Yemi Nicholson’s performance at Orlando: “I like him. I really do. He has a good upside. Good kid, too. He passes the ball, has a good feel. He hasn’t been playing long and he has the right approach.”…The Nuggets aren’t expected to make a general manager hire until after the June 28 draft, but Washington Wizards director of basketball administration Tommy Sheppard is the name that continues to be mentioned. … If the Nuggets keep the 49th pick in the draft, don’t be surprised if the player is sent overseas to develop.
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com. Spears can also be heard talking NBA on Thursdays at 4 p.m. on ESPN 560 AM.
