Nothing too shocking here. Players that turn down two year, $25 million extension offers usually tend to seek as much money as possible.
Orlando had to offer the bank to Rashard because, what else can they offer besides money that the Rockets can't match or exceed? Houston has a better team, hometown, same no income tax as Florida. So all it came down to as I expected...money. I'm very happy we dodged a bullet here and didn't overpay for Lewis. As I said in some other thread, -never- pay max money for non-franchise players. And Rashard is a non-franchise player.
Lewis was the top FA out there and coveted by many teams. Morey couldnt of done or said anything to drive up the price. Some of the crap people come up with amazes me.
Rockets had their chances w lewis. i don't blame the rockets for not drafting him out of elsik....c'mon admit it, how many of you really thought he was going to be that good? but i vividly remember few years bakc when seattle OFFERED lewis in a trade that involved eddie griffin...remember him? this year as everyone here knew wasn't going to happen.....lewis is still in his prime, he knows he won't get paid $hit here, he has a chance to be in a magic team that is on the horizon...can't blame him. maybe when he is like 35 he'll pull a drexler or barkley and retire here.
Nothing to be sad about. We had little chance of getting him in the first place, and on top of that, Rashard is not worth 15 million a year (though relative to other trash players in the league getting that kind of scratch, I guess he is). He's not that great, not even a go-to guy; can't really create his own shot and an average rebounder at best. He would fit on our system nicely but one can say that for about 30 other players so, you know, whatever.
True, but those guys were not the #2 Pick like Darko was. He's a bust until proven otherwise. Yao came in at the #1 Pick and look at the damage he's done. Some folks were even saying that Darko would end up bring better than Yao. WRONG. Some guys just don't have it in their hearts to live up to their own hype. Darko, will never live up to his #2 Pick. Those picks belong to franchise players, he is not one of them.
WOW, I'M SHOCKED! LOL Good, now we can move on to some real options before they are all gone! And this makes Darko unaffordable to the Magic. Maybe we could go after him?
We shoulda countered that 75MM over 5 years.. with a plan for 12MM a year and a financial advisor... and no state income tax.
I'm happy for Rashard. We can't fault him for taking the money - we all would have. Plus, Orlando is a great place to live, SVG is a good coach, and playing next to Howard is none too shabby. No brainer decision for him.
After Milwaukee re-signs Mo Williams, they will probably still have enough cap room to offer Darko more than a MLE contract. Here's how we can help them have even more cap room to sign Darko, while at the same time heisting Yi from them: Trade Battier + Head + Novak in exchange for the rights to Yi and Bobbie Simmons. Simmons was overpaid even before he missed all of last year with feet and ankle injuries and is due 30 million over the next three years. This would give the Bucks a starting SF in Battier, put them another $1.5 million below the cap to help them sign Darko, and relieve them of what was ranked the 10th worst contract in the NBA: http://winningtheturnoverbattle.blogspot.com/2007/06/worst-contracts-in-nba.html Imagine the marketing bonanza of the "New Chinese Wall" of Yao and Yi? I'm not sure Les would effective eat a $30 million contract to get him, however.
Dude, How can you say this??? Rashard signs with a team that has one of the most dominate centers in East, if not the most dominate. Sure, the team is not elite now, but there is a lot of potential with a Rashard/Dwight inside out Tadem. If I was him, I would have done the same thing.
sometimes sidenote, morey looks like a fool trying to sell that they were going after this guy. if they did talk to his agent, the first time max contract was mentioned should have been the last of the talks
The hype is not Darko's fault. I guess Joe Dumars is the "bust" who hung this albatross around Darko's neck. Even in a bad draft, somebody has to be the #2 pick. That poor fellow may not be a franchise player either. I think it is more complicated than you want it to be. It takes many of these teenage lottery picks a while to get it going. Darko may be one of them.
PRICELESS. I like Rashard Lewis, and I wanted him to play in Houston, but even ESPN is skeptical of the deal. To Darko!
i totally agree with duc_in_a_pond. If i was rashard and knew that i was at the top of my game and had the most value that i will ever have in my career than yea im gonna take the money! the career of an nba player is short and one serious injury away from retirement. he made the right move for his career. yea, maybe he could play for a contender like the rockets, but for way less money and to be third fiddle next to yao and tmac...then heck no...i'll wait till after i get PAID first. at this point in his career he'd prob rather be a leader of a team that now has a chance to advance deep in the playoffs, rather than be on a team where hes just a role player (next to yao and tmac) and i dont think there is anything wrong with that.
Bad for Magic. Good for Rockets. The Magic front office is not smart and they will regret for this deal sooner or later. Lewis, putting up good numbers in a bad team, is not worthy such a big deal. Besides, he is a bad defender. Rockets now have another PF option in Darko Milicic. I hope Morey was really just playing the ball.
