ESPN: Magic/Seattle Agree to Sign and Trade

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">FREE-AGENT BUZZ: With the Magic being key players in this month's free-agent sweepstakes, their imminent acquisition of coveted small forward Rashard Lewis has been all the buzz of the summer league.

Lewis' agent, Tony Dutt, was at the camp Monday, finalizing the negotiations with the Magic. Lewis is expected in town Wednesday, the first day that free agents can sign contracts, to ink a six-year megadeal with the Magic.

Orlando has agreed to a sign-and-trade deal with the Seattle SuperSonics that will allow Lewis to make $126.4 million over the next six seasons, according to NBA sources who requested anonymity. The Magic will send back a <u>second-round pick to the Sonics.</u>

<u>With the 2007-08 salary cap set Tuesday night at $56.63 million, Lewis' first-year salary with the Magic will be $16.68 million -- the maximum allowable for a player with nine years of NBA experience. From there, he'll get 10.5 percent annual raises. That will take the deal to a mind-boggling $25.2 million for the 2012-13 season.</u></div>

Source: ESPN

Well we are officially in cap hell. We overpaid dramatically for Shard, but in trading a 2nd rounder for Shard, it allows us to not have to renounce Darko. So we still keep his bird rights and I expect us to sign him within the next day or so.

 

$126 million over 6 years! For Rashard Lewis? Thats a Kobe type deal right there.

I reckon the Magic should've held out until next off season, thats when the big fish are to be caught.

 

Supposedly this move makes it where we have to renounce Darko's rights. We currently have a $15 mil cap hold with Darko on the roster. We can't take more than 110% if we are over the cap and we aren't $17 mil under the cap with Darko's cap hold. So basically we have to renounce Darko's rights anyway to get this trade done. So now basically we have Rashard Lewis for Grant Hill and Darko. I certainly wouldn't do that for the price that Shard is gonna be making.

I doubt we make the playoffs next year with our current roster. Otis better have several trades to gut the team to get a new SG and PF.

 

<div class="quote_poster">NTC Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">$126 million over 6 years! For Rashard Lewis? Thats a Kobe type deal right there.

I reckon the Magic should've held out until next off season, thats when the big fish are to be caught.</div>

We couldn't hold out until next year. Dwight's extension starts and we still have to give Jameer an extension, we wouldn't be under the cap enough next year to sign a max FA, unless we made absolutely NO MOVES and kept the same team minus Grant Hill and minus Darko. That is a surefire lotto team with that.

 

Wow, after looking at the cap situation I think this was a horrible move for the Magic. This move doesn't make them title contenders, and handicaps them from improving their team through free agency for the next six years. So essentially they have made themselves in to mid-card playoff contenders, who's only shot of making any drastic change in the team over the next several years is trade.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Blur Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Wow, after looking at the cap situation I think this was a horrible move for the Magic. This move doesn't make them title contenders, and handicaps them from improving their team through free agency for the next six years. So essentially they have made themselves in to mid-card playoff contenders, who's only shot of making any drastic change in the team over the next several years is trade.</div>

If nothing else happens, we're back in the lottery next year.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
GM likes look of Magic roster

BY JOHN DENTON
FLORIDA TODAY

ORLANDO - With Rashard Lewis set to officially become a member of the Orlando Magic today and power forward Darko Milicic about to join veteran guard Grant Hill on the way out of town, one question persists surrounding this Magic makeover.

Is Orlando a better team now than the one that was swept out of the first round of playoffs by the Detroit Pistons two months ago?

Magic general manager Otis Smith, the foreman of the offseason construction project, certainly thinks so. Adding a scorer of Lewis' ilk gives the Magic another dominant weapon and the trickle-down effect of his addition should certainly benefit Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu.

"You're never going to be able to fill all the holes on your roster in one summer, but you try and do your best to anchor the team with really good players and put the pieces around them. I think we've done that," Smith said.

"If everything falls into place the way it should I really like our team. When I put our team on the (dry-erase) board in my office and I look at every other team in the Eastern Conference, I like our team that much more. And when I look at the teams in the West, I still like our team."

The Magic will finalize a contract with Lewis, the most coveted small forward on the free-agent market, today. A news conference will be held this afternoon where the Magic will announce that Lewis has signed a six-year sign-and-trade deal worth a staggering $127.2 million. According to a source close to the negotiations who asked to remain anonymous, Orlando will send a second-round pick back to Seattle as compensation in the sign-and-trade deal.

Lewis, who turns 28 next month, will get a starting salary of $16.8 million next season -- the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement for a player with nine years of NBA experience. From there, he'll get 10.5 percent annual raises and the deal will be worth a whopping $25.6 million in the final season.

Smith said other NBA teams have continued to recruit Lewis in the days since he reached a handshake agreement with the Magic last Tuesday. But Tony Dutt, the agent for Lewis, said the 6-foot-10, 230-pound small forward's commitment toward Orlando has never wavered.

"I really think if people do their due diligence they will see that in Rashard the Magic got the best of the crop in free agency," Dutt said. "I've been talking to him and he feels better about committing to the Magic every day. He can't wait to get started and he really feels like him and Dwight Howard can grow together and become something special."

A five-year, $85 million contract extension for Howard, Orlando's franchise center, will be finalized by Thursday. Howard, who will make $6 million next season under the final year of his rookie contract, will see his salary jump to $14 million in 2008-09. He will have an option on the fifth year of the deal, meaning he could become a free agent again after the 2011-12 season.

Milicic's time with the Magic apparently is over. Orlando withdrew a $6.8 million qualifying offer from Milicic last week, and will apparently renounce its rights to the 22-year-old power forward/center today.

"He's moved on and we've moved on, too," Smith said.

When the free-agent courting period opened on July 1, Smith had designs on landing Lewis and retaining Milicic. But that was before Milicic's agent, Marc Cornstein, blasted the Magic and Smith for refusing to offer his client a deal close to the $10 million a season he sought.

Assistant general manager Dave Twardzik has since handled all the negotiations with Milicic's camp. After several failed attempts to work a sign-and-trade deal in order to get compensation for Milicic, the Magic decided to cut ties with the Serbian shot-swatter.

"There just hasn't been a deal come up that makes sense to us," said Smith, who couldn't get into specifics until the NBA's moratorium was lifted at midnight early today. "We hope to sign a big free agent (today) and then that leaves Darko free and clear."

Orlando acquired Milicic (and Carlos Arroyo) in February of 2006 from Detroit for Kelvin Cato and the No. 15 pick in this past June's NBA Draft. Milicic averaged 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in the playoffs and 8.0 points and 5.5 rebounds during the regular season.

In Lewis, the Magic are getting a premier scorer who has the versatility to hit 3-pointers from the wing and also post up inside. He averaged career highs in points (22.4) and assists (2.4) last season for Seattle. And he showed off his multi-skill talents by averaging 6.6 rebounds and shooting 39 percent from the 3-point line. He also made a career-best 84.1 percent of his free throws.

In Orlando, Lewis will often be designated as a power forward, but not in the traditional sense of the position. With Howard anchoring the post, the Magic want Lewis and the 6-foot-10 Turkoglu on the wings to spread the floor with their shooting ability.

Smith thinks that some combination of J.J. Redick, Keyon Dooling and Trevor Ariza can man the shooting guard slot and replace Hill, who will sign a two-year, $4 million deal with the Phoenix Suns.

And the Magic GM feels that point guard Jameer Nelson and Turkoglu will rebound from down seasons, making Orlando a more complete basketball team.

"I'm counting on guys stepping up and I'm not counting Jameer and Turk having subpar years again," he said. "The silver lining in Grant leaving is that it opens up opportunities for guys like J.J.

"Are we where we want to be yet? No, but you can't always address everything in one offseason. I believe in leaving room for guys to grow into roles, and I think this team will do that."
</div>

Source: John Denton from Florida Today

There HAS to be more movement via trade or SOMETHING else that Otis plans on doing. If we keep the team the exact same as last year other than adding Shard, but lose Hill and Darko, then I think we are lotto bound next year. Thank god we had that clause with Miami saying we don't switch firsts if we are in the lotto.

 

Damn we overpaid......

 

Only the Magic could go from a promising future with young talent a ton of cap space to basically being screwed for the next 6 years. While we filled 1 need, we opened up 2 more needs, which were more important then the need we filled.

Billy was smart leaving the Magic, because he would have been stuck with a lotto team with not much room for improvement.

It is so unbelievable that a team can be so incompetent time after time. Please Otis make me a lying over reacter and get something else done.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Mamba Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What's so bad about a lotto season if you can target Gilbert Arenas? You guys paid way too much for Rashard, I actually feel quite sick reading it.</div>

Yeah I know. We'll be lotto bound with Shard anyway, so overpaying him won't improve our team in the standings anymore.

This basically seals the deal that Darko will be a damn good player and likely will make an all-star game away from Orlando.

 

I can't believe the money Orlando threw at Lewis. I didn't think anyone would offer more than the initial 6yr 80 million report that came out, but another 55 mil for the same length?!? Insane. Kobe's extension with the Lakers was 127mil over 7 years.. and Lewis is not even the same class as Kobe, LeBron or Wade. First they let Shaq go, then the Grant Hill saga, now this... Orlando will never learn.

 

So let me get this straight. We weren't going to resign Darko anyway, we aren't going to have enough cap to sign anyone else, so we traded a 2nd round pick to the Sonics, so that we can pay him 1 extra year for nearly $30 million? Are you freaking kidding me? This can't possibly be the entire trade. It just can't.

 

Dude... @ contract. I sure hope Shard joins Howard to make a perennial Eastern title contender in the future for that type of cash.

 

<div class="quote_poster">NTC Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">$126 million over 6 years! For Rashard Lewis? Thats a Kobe type deal right there.

I reckon the Magic should've held out until next off season, thats when the big fish are to be caught.</div>

Actually i think its even better than Kobe's... or even KG's! LOL

To think, what if Shard gets injured all of a sudden or avegrages like 10ppg 5rpg 2apg LOL (knock on wood)

 

Lets just hope Reshard Lewis isnt Grant hill 2.0

so we got lewis only for a second round pick? whatever happened to the whole Arroyo and Garrity packasge to clear come cap?

 

<div class="quote_poster">GatorsowntheNCAA Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">So let me get this straight. We weren't going to resign Darko anyway, we aren't going to have enough cap to sign anyone else, so we traded a 2nd round pick to the Sonics, so that we can pay him 1 extra year for nearly $30 million? Are you freaking kidding me? This can't possibly be the entire trade. It just can't.</div>

I think it is. This really surprised me, so much for Shard, it's amazing. You guys are now tied down for awhile. 30 mill for 1 year, for Lewis, it just boggles the mind. If I were a Magic Fan, I would cry at this. He gets paid more in his last year then some starting 5's in the NBA.

 

**** you Magic. I hate you. Die.