Report: Lewis agrees to sign with Magic; Milicic to become unrestricted free agent
Orlando television station WKMG is reporting that Rashard Lewis has agreed to sign with the Orlando Magic on July 11.
The deal is reported for 5 years and $75 million.
Sports anchor David Pingalore also reported the Magic will allow restricted free agent forward Darko Milicic to become an unrestricted free agent.
..... from the realgm.com website.
The deal is reported for 5 years and $75 million.
Sports anchor David Pingalore also reported the Magic will allow restricted free agent forward Darko Milicic to become an unrestricted free agent.
..... from the realgm.com website.
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 2:11 AM
3 Comments:
At 2:23 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
How's that for some stunning late night news!
If this is true, I'm ecstatic about Lewis being here, but disappointed that the Magic are apparently going to let Darko go without compensation. Dwight and Darko would have made an awesome combo at the C/PF spot for years to come.
Hopefully, someone in training camp will make a strong bid to take over the starting PF spot. Maybe Otis has someone in mind that he wants to bring in, or maybe Marcin Gortat, James Augustine, or even Hedo will step up.
On the positive side, kudos to the Magic for signing Rashard Lewis!
At 3:27 AM,
OVERWADED said…
This is from ESPN:
The NBA's most sought-after free agent is going to the Magic Kingdom.
Rashard Lewis has given the Orlando Magic a verbal commitment to leave the Seattle SuperSonics and sign a max contract on July 11, according to NBA front-office sources.
That's the first day free agents are allowed to officially sign new contracts.
Unless a sign-and-trade arrangement is worked out with Lewis' old team or unless it can otherwise shed payroll between now and July 11, Orlando will have to renounce the rights to restricted free agent Darko Milicic to create the salary-cap space needed to sign Lewis to a deal believed to be in the $15 million-a-year range.
Magic big man Dwight Howard had shown great interest in Lewis joining the club.
"I'm very excited we'd have a chance to play together," he said, according to the Orlando Sentinel on Monday. "He's a wonderful athlete, great person and would help our team a lot."
Howard said the two shared a "chemistry" during games, even joking about their similar unorthodox free-throw styles.
"Hopefully, he'll like it here," he said, according to the paper.
At 3:36 AM,
OVERWADED said…
You know, I'm down with bringing in Lewis into O-Town. I've been calling for him since last summer. The problem I have is, I like Darko. I think Darko is going to be more than legit. I think we'll regret letting Darko go. And as excited as I am about bringing in Lewis, I'm just as worried about who is going to be our starting power forward next year. I just don't want to see Battie in the starting 5; no matter what. I'd rather see the Magic take a "small ball" approach, and start a run and gun team with Nelson, Redick, Lewis, Turk, and Howard. I don't want Battie starting; for the simple fact that he isn't a starter in this league.
On the positive, the Magic seemed to have just signed a player that will guarantee us 20+ points a night. The guy can hit three's like nothing. He's 6-10 and can go on the block. He's perfect for our team.
So far, this summer we've dumped Brian Hill, we've signed Stan Van Gundy, and now it appears to be Lewis also. As much as I hate to lose Darko, this appears to be a winning summer. However, I'm still curious to see how they'll address the power forward position.
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