Orlando Magic News for September 23rd: Otis Smith Progresses as a GM

The top 10 NBA general managers of the last decade

Kelly Dwyer weighs in on the best NBA GMs of the last decade. Orlando's Otis Smith makes the list, despite his initial struggles. Here's Dwyer's assessment of Otis now...

[...] Smith also worked well around the fringes, built around the pieces left for him (the previous administration was awful, but they did acquire Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu), and had his team in the 2008 Finals. And, somehow, the 2009-10 version of the Magic looks far, far superior.

Executive order

Just two years ago, Dwyer ranked all 30 NBA GMs, and he was not nearly as charitable to Smith. It's eerie how accurate Dwyer was when he wrote the following, roughly 2 weeks before the Magic signed Rashard Lewis with the cap room to which he alludes:

With a host of cap room to work with this summer and a strong defensive coach who knows his way around an offense in Stan Van Gundy, this summer should make or break the Magic for the next half decade.

2010 NBA Preview: Orlando Magic

The folks at Recliner GM, a Philadelphia sports blog, aren't alone in thinking Smith's recent maneuvers will pay off for Orlando. One author, Pete, believes it's on its way to its first NBA title; Dannie thinks they're among the league's elite.

Adidas TS Commander LT – Dwight Howard

On a totally different subject, Bay Area Kicks has this look at the new signature shoes Dwight Howard will wear this season. I seem to recall seeing him wear these during the latter stages of this year's playoffs, but I could be wrong. Either way, they're sharp.

UPDATE: Digital: NBA Stars, Adidas Talk Directly With Fans in China

Normandy Madden of Advertising Age writes about how Adidas promoted Howard and Derrick Rose during their Double-Double tour of China.