Could Pitino and Hardaway get along?

[DJessen33@aol.com]

Hardaway: I did not run off Daly
L.C. Johnson 
of The Sentinel Staff
Published in The Orlando Sentinel on May 25, 1999.

Penny Hardaway said he was surprised by Chuck Daly's resignation as coach of 
the Orlando Magic on Monday.

But Hardaway said he won't be the least bit surprised if he is blamed for 
Daly's departure, much as he was for Brian Hill's firing three seasons ago.

"I know people are going to automatically assume that I had something to do 
with Chuck Daly leaving because of what happened with Brian Hill," Hardaway 
said Monday night from his home in Memphis, Tenn. "But there is no way that a 
coach like Chuck is going to let one guy run him off.

"Besides that, Chuck didn't even know if I was going to stay in Orlando or 
not. I could always leave. So how could he base a decision to quit coaching 
on me when he doesn't know if I'll be around?"

Hardaway, a four-time All-Star, has the option to sign with another team when 
he becomes a free agent July 1. He says whomever the Magic hire to replace 
Daly will have no effect on his decision on whether to remain in Orlando.

"I would never go to the Magic and say, 'I won't play for this guy,' " 
Hardaway said. "So that won't be a factor at all."

During the past season, Hardaway sometimes clashed with Daly. The two 
admittedly did not communicate well with one another, but that seemed to have 
been smoothed out during the team's lone West Coast trip.

During the latter stages of the season, Hardaway openly complained of Daly's 
play-calling and said he thought it reduced his field-goal attempts. Hardaway 
also was reluctant to play point guard after having been moved to shooting 
guard while Nick Anderson was out with hamstring injuries.

"I think Chuck Daly is a great guy. I really do. And I wish him well," 
Hardaway said. "I think he'll be remembered as a hard guy who was a fiery 
competitor. And I look at us as just being two competitive guys who were out 
there trying to win.

"But he taught me a lot about how to handle certain things on the basketball 
court and off. The main thing he tried to teach me was to have fun on the 
floor and not try to fix the whole world when you're out there. That's not 
always easy to do because we're human, and emotions can get in the way."

The Magic missed the 1998 playoffs with a 41-41 record. Hardaway missed 63 
games that season following his second knee surgery. This past season, with 
Hardaway appearing in all 50 games during a lockout-shortened season, the 
Magic surpassed everyone's expectations by compiling a 33-17 record. However, 
the team was eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers, 3-1.

"Chuck has done a lot for the game of basketball, and I'm sure he figured 
that it was time for him to move on and enjoy his life," Hardaway said. "I'm 
just sorry that we couldn't send him out on a higher note by winning him 
another championship."

DJessen33