<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">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.</div> http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2924228 I post this because of the Darko implication -- I've always thought he'd be an interesting gamble at a reasonable price. Or, could Orlando be involved in a 3-way sign/trade deal to move Darko somewhere? P.S. I think Lewis is being over-valued/over-hyped... a MAX contract? Like Kobe/Wade/James money? Why?
totally agree with you, Lewis does not seem like a max deal guy to me either. I think DArko would be a solid addition. I would rank him 3rd behind G Wallace and Nocioni as desirable free agents, but perhaps the most acquirable
Darko's size and upside will help anyone. G Wallace and the game, hustle and defence he brings is very very desirable!!!
Lewis isn't a max guy. But if the only way desperate teams are going to get him is if they give him the max.
Lewis should help the Magic win more games. I dont think he deserves a max contract, but in this day and age....
I thought the Sonics were going to keep Lewis after they traded away Allen. I guess Seattle wont be so good with just Durant coming in after losing those 2...
I think that Seattle just wants to blow everything up. New PG, new Forwards, new everything. They want to start fresh and bring a new era to the city of Seattle. Kinda like what the Raptors did, hopefully the sonics can win some more games.
That sounds good, plus they are cutting cap. Hopefully this new and improved team will end up in OKC. Regarding Darko: I remember when he was drafted Dumars wanted him to be a center when he considered himself a PF. He has been trying to develop as a center for all these years with limited success. If he can come here and play PF next to Beans, we could see his true potential. I would like to sign him just for his size. He made Beans look like a child when they played against eachother.
I really have no clue how the NBA works salary-wise. Can one of you CBA junkies tell me how a sign-and-trade for Darko would work, when the Magic can't re-sign Darko? I know the Warriors have a trade exception, but I was always under the impression that in a sign-and-trade, a team has to first sign that player before they deal him away, and the Magic don't have the cap nor the Bird rights to resign Milicic. Can someone correct me on that? Because if that's the case, and the Warriors can't sign-and-trade for him, my gut tells me he'll wind up in Memphis, which is pretty much the only team that can both afford him and is willing to give him that $7-8 million dollar a year deal.
Darko has developed into a decent player. However just my two cents, the Warriors with Don Nelson as head coach have Biedrins, Harrington, and Wright to play the post. If Wright is part of the future adding Darko to a long contract could add a log jam in the post depth-wise and contract-wise. Also if Lasme is a keeper and Patrick O'Bryant starts to show great development from last season (which isn't impossible due to his young age) this type of move would add even more to that log-jam. We already have Foyle there taking up lots of $$$$$$$ as is.
Rashard Lewis always had the feel of a nobody kinda player, a guy that would be good year in year out, but never be a part of anything great. Now he's jumping ship to go to Orlando, and certainly they're a good team, but is he really the guy they were missing? They had a superior player with the same kind of game in McGrady, and that fell apart on them. If the Magic make some noise, it's all on Howard, not Lewis.
Who cares? He's one of those floaters who's pretty good on a bad team. He seems to be a great guy, not a complainer, but he's not a huge difference maker. I want Nocioni!!
