<div class="quote_poster">Iron Shiek Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Sweet Lew's agent played hard ball with the Magic. If he wasn't going to get the sixth year from the Magic he would have negotiated another deal with another team who was willing to do a sign and trade with Seattle. After the Magic lost Billy Donovan they didn't want more egg on their face by losing Rashard. That is why the Magic felt compelled to give Rashard the sixth year. All he had given the Magic was an oral commitment. </div> Correct, but the GM you should be criticizing is Otis Smith, because he actually believed another team would not only pay that much for Rashard Lewis, but also give something up to Seattle so they can pay him more money for an extra year.
I could write a full featured article criticizing Otis Smith and it still wouldn't give justice to how bad a GM he is. Otis Smith may very well be the worst GM in all of sports. The Lewis signing was just what tossed him over the edge. The crazy thing about professional sports is that owners are never criticized for the money that they spend on athletes and team management. Someone had to have told Magic owner Rick Devos that offering Sweet Lew an $120 deal would be the worst investment of his career. If my money was involved I would be doing as much research as possible to ensure that I was getting the maximum product for my investment. Sam Presti possibly got more than what many people expected out of Orlando in this sign and trade but until that trade exception delivers a player that can help us in the foreseeable future the only people truly benefitting from Presti's genius is Rashard Lewis and his agent. And they now have no affiliation with the Sonics whatsoever.
