They are damned -- I'm convinced of it.
Just as the Boston Red Sox have had to live with the Curse of the Bambino for the last century, the Orlando Magic will have to endure the Curse of the Shaquino.
How else can you explain what has happened?
How does a sports franchise go from being one of the most providential in history to being one of the most plagued? And if you don't believe the Magic have somehow enraged the sports gods, consider this:
They will not only go down in history as the franchise that suffered the worst free-agent loss in NBA history (Shaq), but they also may have signed the biggest free-agent bust in NBA history (Grant Hill).
This is not meant to assign culpability. It's certainly not Hill's fault his medial malleolus has become as fragile as an 800-year-old Ming figurine. I'm sure he feels worse than anybody.
But, still, this is what it is. And right now, it is the biggest free-agent bust in NBA history.
Correction: This has the makings of the biggest free-agent bust in SPORTS history. Bigger than Albert Belle. Bigger than Scott Mitchell. Bigger even than Fox Sports Net signing Keith Olbermann. I've taxed my brain and tapped my resources for the past several days trying to come up with a bigger potential flop than Hill, and nothing even comes close.
There have been some draft picks who have been massive duds -- LaRue Martin and J.R. Reid come to mind in the NBA; Ki-Jana Carter and Tony Mandarich in the NFL -- but never has there been an established superstar of Hill's stature who has been paid so much and contributed so little.
Regionally, we've seen the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bust with Alvin Harper and the Jacksonville Jaguars flop with Bryce Paup, but those players weren't in Hill's stratosphere. The closest thing I could find to the Magic's malady came in 1985, when the Atlanta Braves signed reliever Bruce Sutter, baseball's elite closer, to what was then a mega 6-year, $10 million contract. Sutter almost immediately hurt his arm and went from best to bust. He played sporadically for three more seasons. His stats with the Braves: 112 games, 40 saves.
Of course, even those lowly numbers don't approach Hill's -- two years, 18 games with the Magic. And, really, you can't compare a relief pitcher -- even one as good as Sutter -- to Hill, who was considered one of the top five players in the game when he signed with Orlando.
The Magic still are saying they believe Hill will someday return to his pre-surgery form, but that's being more Pollyanna than pragmatic. One surgery didn't fix Hill's problem. Two surgeries didn't fix Hill's problem. Who's to say three will?
Let's be honest, shall we? Foot injuries are often career killers. And in this case, the doctors don't even know what's the matter with Hill's foot -- not really. Bone spurs? That's medical jargon for: "Well, um uh, your guess is as good as mine."
My guess is this: This is all cosmic payback. A decade ago, the Magic hierarchy sold its soul for the pingpong balls that landed Shaq.
But when Shaq left, the basketball gods became angry. And they rained fire, hail and Jon Koncak down upon the franchise. The Magic became doomed to 100 years of plague, strife and Mark Acres.
It is the Curse of the Shaquino.
Grant Hill never knew what hit him.