On this edition of Magic Podsquad, we catch up with Orlando Magic traveling Secretary and Senior director of Team Operations, Rodney Powell, You've been here since day one, and myself George Galante, Jeff Turner. We recamp what has been a busy couple of months for this Orlando Magic organization and get into the Shaquille O'Neal number of retirements, our thoughts on that and why that is absolutely a terrific move
for the organization. Polo ban Carrol, we feel definitely headed to his first All Star Game in Indianapolis and also a first half of the season recamp coming your way here on this edition of Magic Podsquad, and of course, Podsquad, brought to you by the Board of Department of Transportation, reminds you that fans don't let fans drive drunk. If you've been drinking, don't get behind the wheel. Instead, find
a sober driver or cat your ride service. Remember, drive sober or get pulled over, Have a great night and drive safe. Plenty of shack stories with Jeff Turner and Rodney on this edition of Magic pod Squad. This is Fawns long enough to Orlando Magic.
This is Cole Anthony. This is Jenny Suggs.
This is Paulo man Carroll the Orlando Magic and you're listening to the Pod Squad.
And welcome everyone to another edition of Magic Pod Squad. Dante Marcatelli, Jeff Turner, George Galatee and to Orlando Magic. Senior Director, President, Vice President of Team Operations and all Things travel. How many how many titles do you have in your name?
Sit?
It's pretty impressive.
One one, Tyler, which was the one that I get paid for. What there you go?
Senior Director of Team Operations, Traveling Secretary Rodney Powell, better known as Sid, joining us here on this trip. You know, if we told the story, how did you get the nickname Sid?
Sid? Sid came from When I was in junior high I played basketball and I was a big fan of Sidney Moncrief at the time. Okay, and somehow, I mean, I know, I never jumped like Sidney mont Creef. But what were there similarities in your game? Is that how you Well, yeah, yeah, I could shoot, but I couldn't jump like him. And somebody I wore his number and somehow I I got stuck with. That's what Sid. He was at Arkansas. I think good Mine.
Creef had a great post up game.
Sid I did not have that.
I like how on everything like Credentials, media Guide, everywhere, like everything is listed as Rodney quote Sid unquote Powell. That's my favorite because like could just go Sid Powell SID.
SID is not all my birth certificate, so i'd match, or your driver's life SiGe.
You've got a city hall and get that ship.
Rodney Powell is what gets you on the planes exactly what's what's on the license? Well, lots to get to here on the On this edition, the big news with Shaquille O'Neal is a number being retired Polo ban Carro, who we all feel will be an All Star and feel like that's a lock for the coaches to vote him in, but fans still need to do their job and and we'll do our kind of first half of
the season update. But I think the news come out a couple of days ago, and Alex Martins did a great job on TNT announcing that Shaquille O'Neil would have his number, thirty two would be the first number going into the rafters. And like my dad always said, you
know you you hand out gold bars. Somebody wants silver, right, So there's always fans that aren't gonna like that, right fans, But for the most part, everybody understands it and overly or the overwhelming majority is that that's the great that's the right thing to do. It's the right move. He needs to be the first number to go into the rafters. And I don't know if anybody can explain that better
than you, Sid and jt on Shack. What he meant to this organization first, just putting this team on the map, right, getting a guy like Shaquille.
That was the biggest thing when he came this is that's one of this whole places you know, got headed in the right direction when he came on board, and things got going the right way, and we were on a roll for what four years? Five years? Yeah?
Yeah, I think the big thing for me is that people need to remember is so we were an expansion team for three years. We played like an expansion team, and we were so bad that third year that we overwhelmingly got the first pick in the draft and we brought in Shaquille O'Neill and really kept the same team. I mean, it was the same group of guys. You know, Nick Anderson was already here, Dennis Scott, we had Scott Skiles, you know, we had you know, Terry Catlidge, and we
had basically the same crew. And we went from that very poor expansion team to a team the very next year wished to quill competing for a playoffs spot. And you know, based on like it went down to the fourth tiebreaker, I think that we didn't make the playoffs. But you look around, you go back through time, you know, and see a first round draft pick that helped the team improve by twenty games and make them. As Sid said, everything changed, Uh yes, did you could speak? It changed
from our travel means too. You go, we went to a charter plane. Then the ownership got a chart plane for us. I mean that was all broughtle.
The hotels were all different, hotels were top notch. We were like a traveling road show, a traveling circus. So I was so because we hear that, we hear those stories. How you you see people outside our hotels. Now we may have what maybe fifteen twenty people.
Half of them are asking for you. Yeah that is that's fact.
But back then, I mean we would come in at two in the morning in some of these cities and there's people just lined up outside waiting to see Shaft in the in the well.
I'm not exaggerate when I say one hundred people, Yeah, one hundred.
Yeah, it was right.
I remember that sid that night we were we were into San Antonio and it was late.
Oh yeah, because he was from San Antonio and at that west and there was people on that sidewalk to go. It was terra. I mean, yeah, those were I mean that's all because of him.
And it's just to see him too, by the way, because odds.
Are half of him that they were. He wouldn't sign him many ars.
The odds are he's just going from the bus right into the lobby.
So it's interesting you you just said that people will ask me. He still asked me for my autograph, and so they'll have cards and everything. So then then San Antonio, long line of people. We're getting off the bus, getting off the bus. Some guy yells out Jeff Turner, Jeff Turner. So I walk over to the line and the guy says, hey, Jeff, He's like, anyway you can get Shack's autograph for me. That's what it was.
It's a good try.
Though, that is a good try.
And why do you wear disguises? Like tell us some of your favorite Shack stories from back then. It could be from traveling or I know, you guys buy up to relationship.
I just remember he's he's the same way as now he was then. He's a big kid, a big cut up all the joke sir, prankster. And I mean it's like when you watch him on TV now with him and Charles cut Up on stage were on the set. But just some of the things that he would do on the plane when they would have pillow fights with him and then and then they would get Brooks Thompson rest in peace Brooks and beat him up with pillows
because he was the bed. Like you know, they had a couch on the and Shaq and Jack had the couch. But he would make Brooks sit beside him. He'd beat him with the pillows. Just little things that I mean. He was a big cut big kid, just like he is now.
He wore a he wore a well he's probably seen different times he would like wear wigs and get off the plane like some people. I don't know how he felt like them anyway.
But in reference those couches. Now, those were the couches that six of us would.
Fit on in back right one.
Back then it was just Dennis and Shock Brooks if they needed Brooks.
That's what do we call it? The nuts and bolts won the first thing. The person with Skoles referred to it as nuts and bolts won.
But you were but so Sid you were the equipment manager back then. Obviously Jeff you played with them. And it sounds like by all accounts that he was. He We see what he does now for the communities right for for Orlando, for Central Florida, everywhere he went. He's buying bikes for people. He buying cars for people, bought a wedding ring for Did that start? Like, when did that all start?
Did you see any of that? Usually do that? When he would say we were leaving for a trip and he's come to the airport at a red light. If he saw some guy you know, or what do you call a panhandler now or what, sure he would take care of him. He'd give him a hundred bucks. That I mean, he was very giving back then. So I mean he's never changed when it came to that stuff.
You know, what I always thought was interesting is like, you know, like a lot of celebrities, you know, and you can't miss Shack, right, he wasn't afraid. Like Shack would just go to the mall. No, yeah, like and just you know walk around. People knew who he was and stuff like that. So it like those stories don't surprise us.
Back then, we didn't have security like they do now. Yeah.
Yeah, yes, right right, I mean George has security now for yeah, yeah, I mean.
It gets gets a little bit much.
I mean I don't think our first year few years with Shack we had security.
No, but we started you know, it's right, yeah, it really was like you know, I always kid people. I was like we were It's like chiming with the rolling stones, you know. It's like, I mean wherever we showed up, I mean we had people. You know, this was you know obviously back before nine to eleven and everything, people would tail the bus going to the airport and would go through the gate out onto the tarmac to try to get to the to the airplane just to get
a glimpse. It was, you know, so that when when people like if they have reservations about Shacks number being retired, you know, I for me, it's like as a player, everything changed, just like we talked about and everything, and yeah there were you know, like the way it ended wasn't great. The when he you know, when he left.
I always remind people, though John Gabriel tells a story, it was the only year there was a there was some negotiation, was the only year there where there was no restricted free agency, so there was nothing really we could do. I know, it really was with the with the most dominant player in the history of the franchise, in my opinion, we had no recourse and it didn't go well and in the end, but does it ever
does when a great player. I'm sure when they traded him from LA that wasn't good either, right, So I always encourage people just think about in those four years, what happened on the court and what he did, how quickly we went to the NBA finals. Had Michael Jordan not come back right in ninety five ninety six, who knows?
We were just the way us then? Yes we were. We could have bat on TV, you know.
Yeah, I mean I always and it's already been said twice here and nobody really knows it. There's been many times where we've been in discussion since the announcement with various people, whether it's a reporter, whether it's staff, friends, whatever else, and it always comes back to the answer of well, it's Shack, It's Shack. Yes, there is going to be no player. Listen, we all have talked many times about the quote unquote Mount Rushmore of the Magic right, Shack, Penny, Dwight, Tracy.
There's no argument that those are clearly the four best players ever to wear a Magic uniform.
Right.
However, there will be none of those other guys will move the needle no matter what needle you're talking about, whether it's on court, media, fan reaction, anything. There is not in the country, in the world. There is nobody that's going to move that needle the way Shaq moves the needle. And that's why, to me, it's a no brain decision that Shack has to be first. And we've
been asking for this. You know, there's a there's a board that you know that recommends for Magic Hall of Fame and that type of thing recognitions that we've asked for Shack for. This isn't just a decision that was made last week. You know, this has been this has been a long time coming, and I just think the organization, for whatever reason, it's finally the right time. And it doesn't matter when the time is, you know, you wish
it could have been. I don't think maybe if you would have done this ten years ago, maybe you wouldn't have the reaction you do now. You know, we've we've had this history of you know, bitter breakups and then the breakup stings for a really long time. Well, like we can, we can get into a habit now of shortening that window. And you know this, there's no doubt that this guy was the reason that the Magic were on the map period. There's no argument.
Great point, we don't talk about we don't really talk about two of the other expansion teams that much. You know, Minnesota and that's Armless and that's the other thing, right, Miami has obviously had great success, but we did it first, you know, with with Shaquille o'neils, so we had that quick success. So yeah, I don't think there's any any doubt.
We go to all these arenas and you see all the banners that are up in the rafters, right, so now there will be two organizations that have never retired a Jersey there's.
Just tooers clippers and slippers and rafts ers.
She'll be the only two that have never retired to you, and maybe that's coming. There was pressure on them to try to put someone.
You saw the next day after Shack was announced the social media for those two teams. Yes, random knocking off players who they would think would they could retire.
What do you think it means to Shack? What do you think it means to him to be first to be recognized this way on to write to.
Be I think he's I mean, have you talked to him? I have not talked to him. Come see, I have not talked to him. Just I mean I saw, I saw his expression went on TV when he was was announced, and I think he was shocked a little. But you know he's made comments before that. You know what, he did a video where yeah for the call. Yeah, So I mean for him to finally get it, I think he was very you know, excited, and but his reaction was what I like, just like, wow, this is an
honor and h well deserving. So I mean, I think we're we're doing the right thing.
Well, and then you have success, so now the team's winning, So how did that change from how what you saw against opposing teams. Right now you're having all time battles in some of the great centers of all time are in the league, going against Shaquille O'Neil, right, and he and and he was ready. There were certain centers that he disliked more than others. From what it sounds like, yeah, right, but now now you're starting having success and.
You go to the finals. But just ended an honor for him, like to be the first player. Don't be three in three cities for sure, no question. I mean, no one else has done that.
Will Chamberlain, they said, I think is three? Is that true?
With the Trotters, with the glow Trotters?
Well that because yeah, so then he is?
Is he not? Is he not?
The war was the Warriors sixers, and I guess that's it, right, that's all he played for is so he'll.
Be the first. But I don't.
But I well Lakers or Lakers too, right, So well, I thinks Will does have it.
But to have that guy connected to your organization, those only only be can only be great things. And again the overwhelming majority of fans, everybody understands it and loves it, right like we all do, and we understand it. But he brought success. Your first taste of success came on his shoulders.
Yeah, and I guess let me just say, like the thing about him and you if you followed through his career, you know, at other places too, Shaquille O'Neil was the mark of a great player. Do you make your teammates better? And you know, like again I go back to we were the same guy. He's right, that won twenty games or whatever it was twenty one, what did we win forty one year?
Forty one?
Right, Like we brought us in and he made us all better, you know, like I shot the ball a little bit better, which I had more room to shoot. Dennis had more room. You know, Nick Anderson turned became a three point shooter because you know, there was so much attention on the big fella, and so you know, that's for me, is a big part of it.
And for those that's he's only here four years, he's still in the top ten in how many different categories.
And those four years are arguably the four greatest years, you know, among the greatest years in the history of the franchise. So also there's an interesting conversation that we had on the bus one time because we were talking about I don't remember. We were talking about the possibility that it would happen, and Jeff, I thought, made a great point where he said, if you look down the future,
you know. Tracy McGrady was such an enormous fan of the Magic when he was a kid, right, which made him want to come to the Magic in whenever he came two thousand and three or two thousand. Well, the reason he was a fan of the Magic was because of Shack. That was the reason. It was because of ability well and Penny. Not to not to discount what Penny did. It's because of that team and that era and that era, you know, and Penny has a large part to do with the success. But Shack was the
straw that stirred the drink, and so like it. It has such a wave of influence on the team. Again, I would just say anybody that argues the other way, I think all they have to do is listen to the last fifteen to twenty minutes of us talking, and that should should persuade.
Nobody goes on TNT soon This could happen to he goes on TNT every night and says, I love what happened down there and that I mean he can have influence on free agents too. Is when that time comes.
Because it's Shack, Because answer goes back to because it's Shack every time Shack.
And here's where I would segue, because it's Paulo. I think that is coming. I think they are seeing that right. Shaq was an All Star each of his four years, and we fully expect and anticipate and would be. It would be a crying shame if Poulo was not an All Star this year with what he's done. But how about your interactions with Polo?
He seems to be.
He seems to be heading in that.
Direction as well. Pylo's got, He's got, I mean his drive for the game. I mean for a young guy like him, and we all we all see him play, so we know what he can do. And I think I just think this year would be the the way he's played and produced. I think he should be a shoe in as an All Star, no question.
And don't we could catch you judge it by don't you don't the requests start getting bigger guys.
Like the same. I mean, it's the same path as shotgun. He's kind of like he's our face of the team, absolutely everything. And when people talk about the magic, ite'ts palow So I mean, and he deals with it the same way. I mean, you deal. He's a great guy, great kid. I kind of a kid, but uh, just the way he could be your kid. The way he handles We have kids older than him. I don't like
to go so but he just the way he handles himself. Sure, yeah, and I mean I know it's just the beginning, but he's very professional now and and things are just going up for him.
Well, and we've been there's no denying we've been in in the wilderness for nine ten years, right, and this is the guy that's bringing us out of it, him and Odds and the rest of this group. But he's the guy that's on the top of that scout of report night in and night out, and with Franz out Consecutive games of forty points, consecutive games of forty minutes. I mean, and I thought to me, to me, nothing personified all of this better than you're down twenty against Minnesota,
and coach Moseley says, you know you can. You've played three straight games of forty minutes. It's fine for you to come out. Yeah, I'm good. I want to finish this right, And they made a little run, try to get back into The guy wants to play.
The guy wants to win. Yeah, there's no doubt about that. You know, he's he's got the skill set to be, you know, an all time scorer. He does so many things. But again I go back to kind of what we're talking about Shaq, Like you think about his rookie year, right, like what was the improvement of games? You know, like that's important, Like he he he tips the needle, you know, going towards winning, and he makes people around him better because of the attention that he draws. And you know,
he is so young. You know, Chack came into the league already at twenty one years of old. Yeah, Pollows just in his second year, just turned that age. So you know that that you know, the rise we're going to see it really is incredible what he's done so far. To be honest with you, I think you had a little graphic the other night of his month to month improvement just this season, and it's just incredible the way
his game is ticking up. And you know, we get to watch it, you know, every night he's not facing single coverage right like their teams are gearing their defenses to stop pollow right now. So that's uh, that says a lot.
The thing from from my perspective is now, I think we've talked about it when we've we've caught up with Tracy McGrady later and you realize that the number you know, you don't really when you're in it, that the numbers and things that he's putting up is so historical and astronomic until you know you've stepped back now twenty years later and you're like, holy crap, that guy had like
fourteen forty point games. Well, from my perspective, I'm now having to look up things for Pallo already, you know, one and a half years into the NBA where okay, we're on the same spreadsheet as Lebron Tracy, I'm on it. Like the names and the and the things that he's doing in a historical capacity. From my perspective is like, well, holy crap, I didn't I didn't realize that. Like, well,
holy crap, I didn't realize that either. You know, like they just keep coming and coming and coming so you know, he may not get in with the fan vote because it's probably you know, as much as we still want everybody to get out there and get on their app and vote for Pallo and every day and the triple days and all that, it.
Will make it close.
Because the return he's already now, he's already jumped. I think he almost doubled his votes in a week here since you know, since last week returns came out and then the ones who just came out today on Thursday. So he's going to continue to climb there. Again. I don't know if he's going to get into that top
two because he's so far behind. But if the magic can still stay, you know, in this top you know, we all we all know that three through nine now is you know, such so tight, and they change, you know, one day we're fourth, next day we're seventh, Like next day we're fifth. These things are changing all the time. If we can stay in that conversation for the next few weeks and still be in there, I I sometimes think that means more when the coaches put you in there.
Well, just the way it's the way he's recognized by his spears. Yeah, I mean you hear Lebron talking about him. You hear Janni is talking. I mean everybody knows that's noticed him, So that helps tremendously.
I mean you're in the locker rooms, right, I mean that means a ton.
You hear the players talking. I mean even his own teammates. I mean, just like the other night he got his first triple double. It's like these guys are all like young fans of here, like, hey, can I get your jersey jersey tonight?
Well see, and then there you go, that's that teammates.
But that's his teammates. But that's it.
But you saw that sid in the there's something. There's a locker room dynamic when it's a Shack a Dwight, yeah, a t mac penny and Apollo not.
These guys are videoing him holding the book game ball. It's like he didn't know what to do with the ball. And the guys, I mean, you got guys you yelling across eight, I want your jersey tonight. And he's just looking at him like why right, we don't. Well we're seeings off that we're not. That's what.
Yeah, And I think he's there. I mean he's there, and I.
Want then to say, hey, I want his I want his jersey. Are you seeing that guys are coming to the locker room asking from the other thing? They're all coming asking for his jersey. Amazing.
His rook Kevin Durant, told him about the free throw line and why I got to get that jersey after the game. So the last thing we'll throw out there because at the end of this road triple be at the midway point of the season, and I think we can all agree there is a much different feeling this year it was last year. Even though we've been decipated with injuries lately, we've been hit, We've been hit hard, and we're going through the hardest stretch of our schedule.
But if we can come out of this still with somewhat of a cushion or as you know, maybe around five hundred or as much of a cushion as possible, the sky's the limit. The schedule is going to soften at some point and you're gonna get healthy and you have very good possibility of being a playoff team and maybe as high as maybe high enough to avoid any kind of play in scenario.
Well that I think that's got to be the goal now.
Right.
Like when we first started this thing, based on what we did last year, it was kind of like, okay, well the next step is to just to we've got to be competing for a play in spot and everything, well that's off the.
Table now in my you know, now, I don't think we're going to be shoot for six.
Or better exactly right, right, Like you want to go to play in, you want to get a spot, and you know you're right. Health is always a factor. And we've got a little glitch in the schedule. You know where we're going. We're down some guys through a tough part. And the other part of it is when you start winning now people don't take you, you know, like look at Orlando and say, well there's a win on the schedule, all right, rest some guys. Everything we're seeing teams at
full speed. Uh, and so you know that that changes things too.
But I think you're right.
I think we get through this trip and hold our heads above water.
And it comes once we get through All Star break. Yeah, long trip up the first February, got that big all stand right and March.
Funny guys keep saying that though, because I saw a quote last night from Jason Tatum after they played Minnesota.
Okay, similar to us.
Because every graphic you see has us in Boston having the quote unquote easiest schedule remaining right, and then Jason Tatum last night and I felt the exact same way about the Magic. So it's like, yeah, let me know when that ish starts, you know, And I'm like, yeah, like no, kidd is, like I keep looking at our schedule and you're you're waiting for the you know. And that also says a lot about the parody of the
NBA right now too. There's a lot better teams than there then maybe people thought there were, but yeah, I'm looking at the schedule and going, well, yeah, when's that fighting up for us? But the good news is is hopefully knock on woo, hopefully on this road trip that we're about to embark on here, you know, I think you may start seeing some people getting back on the floor that we've been.
We'll see when that's schedule.
You've been scheduling these trips since day one when this schedule came out, had you seen one like this?
No? I mean, like we saw the beginning of the year. We took that first West Coast as the first time in my thirty five years, i'd ever gone out west in October in October, so it was it was nice to get to La over with. But yeah, we're sure, but that was our first time ever doing that. Yeah, and all the trips are long like this one too. One is this one seven days one of February's ten days, So.
When's this ish gonna light up? I noticed you took this one and not the ten Day one Jewels jewel as a ten day one.
All right, well, sid we appreciate it, guys.
The good luck rest of the away and we'll see where this takes us, hopefully six or better here on knees. That'll do it for this edition of Magic Pod Squad