Otis Smith on Thin-Ice in Orlando?
Sources close to the team say (Dwight) Howard’s voice has been instrumental in a number of the team’s moves, chief among them the underwhelming offseason sign-and-trade acquisition of forward Glen Davis (four years, $26 million). There’s nothing diabolical about a prominent player letting it be known that he would enjoy teaming up with certain teammates, but sources say the move was made with Howard’s happiness — and clearly not the team’s salary cap space — in mind. Veteran shooting guard Jason Richardson (four years, $24 million), who has the same agent as Howard, was re-signed with the eternal hope of pleasing the big man in the short term.
The irony, of course, is that Howard’s dissatisfaction with moves made by the actual general manager, Otis Smith, have left him without much job security of his own. Smith’s thin-ice status was the worst kept secret in the league leading into the trade deadline, with front office sources widely assuming there would be a vacancy there come the summer.
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