Orlando Magic Blog

Group Blog talking about the NBA 2009 Eastern Conference Champions. Due to the amazing success of the 2009 playoff run comments are now frequently deleted to kill offensive comments, incoherence, or asininity. Comments can no longer be anonymous and require either a Blogger or OpenID account.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Rashard Lewis OKs Deal With Magic

SEATTLE - Rashard Lewis is leaving the Northwest and taking his game to Orlando. One of the most sought after free agents this offseason, Lewis agreed to a "maximum contract" with the Magic, his agent Tony Dutt said Tuesday. Lewis made the decision late Monday night after meeting with Magic officials in Orlando "He had a comfort and a gut feeling and he feels they have a championship core, and that's what he wants to do is win a championship," Dutt said. The terms of the deal are still being worked out. He's expected to receive a deal in the range of $15 million per season. The Magic wouldn't comment Tuesday, citing league rules that an agreement cannot be announced until July 11. Orlando can only sign Lewis to a five-year contract, while Seattle could sign Lewis to a six-year deal. Dutt said the Magic and Seattle are in discussions about a sign-and-trade deal that would give Lewis that sixth-year, help Orlando clear some salary and give Seattle something in return. "That he's going to Orlando doesn't change the fact that he had good years in Seattle," Dutt said. Lewis opted out of the final two years of his contract with Seattle in late May, leaving behind a guaranteed $21 million. Seattle, the only team Lewis has played for, had the first chance to meet with the 6-foot-10 forward Sunday morning in Houston. Seattle was among 20 teams that contacted Dutt on Sunday, the first day of NBA free agency. Soon after his meeting with Seattle, Lewis boarded a plane for Orlando and liked what he heard from the Magic, including the chance to play with Dwight Howard. "He feels like they're going to be good for a long time," Dutt said. "It was important knowing that Howard was going to be around a long time as well." Lewis is coming off his best season, when he averaged career-highs in points (22.4), rebounds (6.6) and assists (2.4). His age (28 next month) and his versatility to hit 3-pointers or score on the low block made Lewis a targeted commodity for many teams.

posted by Big Figure @ 1:14 PM  

7 Comments:

  • At 1:24 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    So basically were trading darko for rashard,im cool with that because now we get something for darko in a proven scorer,plus we get cap room to add another big via free agency.

     

  • At 1:35 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Unless we can trade another player/players to free up cap space...

     

  • At 1:36 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Nevermind.

    Milicic's agent, Marc Cornstein, told the Sentinel that the Magic will either renounce the rights to Milicic -- making him a free agent -- or involve him in a sign-and-trade for Lewis to the Seattle SuperSonics. "It's going to be one of two ways," a disappointed Cornstein said.

     

  • At 4:23 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Ewing Hired As Assistant Coach for Magic. ORLANDO, Fla. - Patrick Ewing was hired as an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic, filling out Stan Van Gundy's staff.

    Brendan Malone, Steve Clifford and Bob Beyer also were hired as assistant coaches, the team said Tuesday.

    Ewing, an 11-time All-Star, was a Rockets assistant from 2004-06, and served on the Washington Wizards' coaching staff. He'll work with low-post players, including All-Star Dwight Howard. Ewing played 15 seasons, mostly with the New York Knicks, and finished his career with Orlando in 2001-02.

    "Brendan, Patrick, Steve and Bob bring a great deal of experience and knowledge to Orlando," Van Gundy said in a statement. "All four possess tremendous work ethic, have great attention to detail and will help our players reach their full potential."

    Malone has coached in the league almost two decades, most recently as a scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was a head coach in Toronto during the Raptors' first season.

    Clifford was an assistant for the Houston Rockets. Beyer, a former Raptors assistant, coached at the University of Dayton.

     

  • At 4:28 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Boy thats a breath of fresh air,dwight needs a big man coach. I thought clif ray was outdated but useful,ewing's alot more prone to understand the youth of this league being that he's only a few years removed from his own basketball career. I think its a good hire. Ewing will be replacing mark bryant i guess who was never even close to be a star in his own career,but ewing being a hall-of-famer,who better to learn from.

     

  • At 4:41 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    We have not traded Darko for Rashard. We get nothing for Darko, a big man that we could sign up way back for about 8 Million. We basically made a choice sacrificing Darko to gat Rashard, too early in the game. The roster without Darko is not attractive at all, as WeRDevos has mentioned. In my view, we had to secure Darko's contract first and then try for getting Rashard through some shrewed trades, involving Hedo. As it stands we have too many SFs but are very weak on the PF/C. if we play small ball with Hedo at PF look at all players who are not known for their defense; Hedo, Rashard (although decent), J.J. and Jameer. This was OVERWADED suggested line-up. Small ball with Rashard at PF does not look any different. In my view, we would have been better off with Darko in the line-up even if we couldn't get Rashard. The Magic's inexperienced GM got blinded by wanting to get Rashard locked up so quick that they lost the sight of basic common sense. Expect another average season trying to barely make to the play-offs with no post season chance against CHI, DET, WAS, MIA or CLE.

     

  • At 5:24 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    We will be improved for a lot of other reasons. All of our current players should improve for the simple fact that we have a better coaching staff coming in.

    However, losing Darko is a major-MAJOR blow. And while I like Lewis a lot, I'm guessing Smith is looking at Lewis like he is a Kobe, Wade, James, or whoever, and I just don't think he is. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Rashard and Dwight will work great together, but I’m just not comfortable losing Darko, so we can sign Lewis. It doesn't settle well with me, especially for the fact that we have no other bigs besides Battie. Then add in that we'll still have 3 small forwards all expecting big minutes; and this is assuming we just let Grant Hill go.

    This makes me think about a lot of things. One, as we all know, we should have already signed Darko at the beginning of the season. Two, we should have traded Grant Hill before the deadline. And three, I'll never forgive Brian Hill. We had Darko here for a 1 1/2 seasons, and we never got to see Dwight and Darko paired up the way they should have because Hill refused to play him more than 20 minutes off the bench behind TONY BATTIE!

    The Magic have been silent. And I’ve read that they are trying to make a deal to move Battie or Hedo so they can still sign Darko. However, Seattle has pretty much said they have no interest in either of them. I really hope we can do something, move someone. I don’t care if we have to move Ariza or Redick. I wouldn’t mind if we moved Nelson, however that won’t happen because they are talking of him like he is a major piece with Howard. The fact of the matter is, going into this summer, Darko was our #2 guy in regards to importance only behind Dwight. So, if this goes the way it sounds, we’ll lose our #2, and add a #2.

     

Post a Comment

<< Home