Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan, who was just hired this summer to replace Otis Smith, traded Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson, Earl Clark and Chris Duhon Thursday night and received back a package of Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, rookie Moe Harkless, Josh McRoberts, Christian Eyenga, three protected first-round picks and two second-round picks. He held a press conference Thursday afternoon to discuss the moves. Below are some of his comments, from the Magic's official twitter feed:
Dwight Howard Trade: Rob Hennigan Calls Deal Best ‘Considering The Circumstances’
“We feel this trade puts us in a position to win the right way.”
“Any time you’re trading one of the best players in the world, it’s a hard pill to swallow.”
“We were able to acquire some hungry, hard-working players.”
“We want to thank Dwight Howard for all he did for this organization.”
“This was the best deal for us considering the circumstances.”
“The great thing about this organization — other than this ownership group — is the fan base.”
“We didn’t make this decision for tomorrow... You have to think more long term than short term.”
“Our goal is to do what’s best for this organization and this is one day in that process.”
“We have a lot of flexibility to build through [the] draft, free agency, trade or a little bit of each.”
“We felt that Moe Harkless has lottery-level talent.”
Some additional quotes, from CBS Sports’ Matt Moore:
"Sometimes things don't work out the way everyone hopes. I think that was obviously the case here." -Hennigan, on Dwight, but...
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) August 10, 2012
Jacque Vaughn: "There will be no panic, there will be no chaos."
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) August 10, 2012
Hennigan: "I don't think I would have taken the job if I cared about public opinion."
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) August 10, 2012
For more on the Magic, be sure to check out Orlando Pinstriped Post and SB Nation Tampa Bay.
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