Rashard Lewis making 20 million a year????? No way

Who cares about Lewis, screw him... lets not talk about him anymore, theres no point...

 

Looks like the best way to improve is to draft well. Get valuable players cheap that you can either build with or trade for pieces you need.

The FA market is just too dang expensive.

 

I still do not get it. Also how does this create a trade exemption

 

WE should boo the hell out of him when he comes to town just like we booed the hell outta UTAH...who cares about class..dont start saying that people please spare me

 

Wow, how much are Tmac and Yao making? 20 Million a year seems like ALOT for him...

 

The Sonics signed Rashard to the contract and traded him to the Magic. In return they get players/filler/draft choices plus a trade exception to cover the difference between Rashard's huge contract and the smaller contracts they get in return from the Magic.

 

Its funny how some people on this board actually thought we could get him for just a little over the MLE via some kind of sign and trade involving Sura's contract. Seriously, the Orlando Magic franchise is a joke.

 

Well, the contract was only worth $110 million...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2932827

Sonics, Magic complete sign-and-trade for Rashard Lewis
Associated Press

Updated: July 11, 2007, 4:14 PM ET

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A few minutes before Rashard Lewis was formally announced as the newest member of the Orlando Magic, the high-scoring forward donned his white-and-blue uniform and made his way through the team's practice facility.

"Feeling good," Lewis said, stopping to shake hands with well-wishers. "Feeling good."

That's no surprise, considering he'd just received a six-year contract worth more than $110 million with the Magic and an opportunity he coveted to play with All-Star center Dwight Howard on a team that Lewis believes could quickly become a major factor in the Eastern Conference.

Lewis formally joined the Magic on Wednesday, leaving the Seattle SuperSonics after nine seasons when the teams completed a sign-and-trade deal. The Magic sent Seattle a conditional second-round pick, while the SuperSonics earned a trade exception believed to be in the $9 million range.

"We set out at the start of free agency to get a big-time player, someone who could score the basketball," Magic general manager Otis Smith said. "We targeted that guy and we got that guy."

Lewis averaged a career-best 22.4 points last season for Seattle, where he spent his first nine years after jumping straight to the NBA from high school and going early in the second round of the 1998 draft. He's averaged more than 20 points in each of the last three seasons and is the SuperSonics' career leader in 3-point field goals with 973.

He wanted to leave Seattle because he believes the Sonics are "starting over" and began scouting out teams that he felt were a piece or two away from being title contenders. Orlando has long been atop his list.

There's magic in the air as Rashard Lewis, flanked by Orlando GM Otis Smith, left, and coach Stan Van Gundy, airs his new threads.

"They're a young, talented team that ... has nowhere to go but up," the 27-year-old Lewis said. "I feel like I'm still young and still peaking, improving as a player and I can grow with this group of guys."

Lewis agreed to terms with the Magic earlier this month, yet no deal could be closed until Wednesday, the first day that the league's free-agent moratorium was lifted. The pact with Orlando was originally for five years, but the sign-and-trade allowed an extra year to be worked into the contract.

Either way, Lewis said he knew the deal would get done.

"I already knew where my heart was," Lewis said. "My decision was probably made even before these guys put a contract out there."

Still, teams continued wooing him, even into Wednesday. Lewis said the Houston Rockets sent a personalized jersey to his door, but he never wavered on his desire to form a solid 1-2 punch with Howard in Orlando.

"I don't know if the formula of a great perimeter player and a great inside guy has failed very often," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Those are always very good teams. There may be other ways to do it, but the most tried-and-true formula in this league is to have one great perimeter player and one great inside player."

That combo should be together for a long time; the Magic reportedly plan to announce an $85 million, five-year extension with Howard on Thursday.

"It really makes our roster very, very good," Van Gundy said. "And even more than that, what this says to me and what our organization has done with Rashard shows me and should show everyone out there how committed this organization is to winning and winning a championship."

Lewis called the Western Conference the "juggernaut of the NBA," and most observers wouldn't argue that that side of the league -- with Phoenix, Dallas and reigning league champion San Antonio, among others, leading the way -- is superior to most teams in the East, where LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers made a mildly surprising run to the Finals this past season.

And Lewis said watching James lead the Cavs out of the East only further cemented his belief that the Magic could quickly ascend into contention, something he just didn't think would be possible if he remained in Seattle.

"What's different from us and Cleveland?" Lewis said. "I feel like we're going to have a chance to maybe even get to the Finals next season."


Too bad the Rockets had a chance to put that jersey on him nine years ago.

 

orlando actually does have a shot at making the finals next year. they have absolutely zero chance at winning a ring however.

 

Every other team had a chance that year.

The difference is that we had three #@$#@@#$@#$@#$@#%%! chances.....

 

Should have come home where he belongs.......oh well, they overpaid. Poor move on the Magics part

 

"He wanted to leave Seattle because he believes the Sonics are "starting over" and began scouting out teams that he felt were a piece or two away from being title contenders. Orlando has long been atop his list."

Right, Orlando, with pretty much just Dwight Howard, is just a piece or two away from being title contenders - Houston, however, with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, is not.

Unless the title he's talking about is the Eastern Conference Champs, then that's one of the more ridiculous things I've ever heard. Even with Rashard, the Magic would probably be swept by any team that made the playoffs in the Western Conference last year.

 

True, but the East is as wide open as ever. We know they will get beat in the NBA finals by a much superior Western Conference team, but who would not want the prestige of at least being an NBA Finals participant?

Many of the crappy Eastern teams can make one big move and immediately contend for home court advantage. The same can't be said for the Western conference, but that's just the way it is.

 

Nope. I've never been too fond of players in Rashard's mold. If I'm going to have a 2nd fiddle (both Wallace and Rashard are), he'd better be able to do several things well instead of one thing well. Rashard's a better shooter and slightly more "go-to" as a scorer. Other than that, Gerald's got him beat in all categories. I'd rather have a poor man's Pippen than a rich man's Wally Sczerbiak.

 

Yeah, I reckon ESPN revised on that.
The problems are:
A) This year's free agency class is pretty weak
B) AK47 got 6 year $86 million 2 years ago, and didn't even average double digits this past season. If you add inflation into the equation, Lewis probably feels like he is taking a discount, in comparison to AK47, in order to team up with Dwight Howard.

 

I know I'm not a league insider but I do have common sense, so I am calling BS on this angle. I don't see the other teams that were under the cap giving Lewis that much money as they don't have glaring needs at that position. I also don't see Seattle taking back that much money in contracts when they are trying to rebuild and are unsure about the future of the franchise in Seattle. They didn't even take back a contract in this trade.

The Orlando GM basically gave the Sonics a draft pick for the right to pay Lewis more money. They signed him for what Wallace and Billups signed for combined.

 

Otis Smith in one fell swoop has made all of those fat, nasty signings of Philly's Billy King seem like drops in the bucket. The only thing worse than no movement, a la Rockets, is a panic signing that cripples your franchise for the next frickin 6 years! I'm shocked at the level of short-term thinking and raw stupidity of the Magic organization!

 

Even with Rashard on board, the Magic are NOT going to reach the Conference Finals.

They got Rashard... but they lost Grant Hill. Granted Rashard is an upgrade over Grant Hill, but Grant Hill would have been their best 2.

Next, look at the way they ridiculously overpaid for him. They were not able to get Darko. Now the Magic, as much as the Rockets do, need a power forward as well. How are they going to plug that hole?

Finally, are you seriously telling me that the Magic will beat the Pistons, the Bulls, the Cavaliers, the Heat, the Raptors and the Nets in a playoff series? Maybe they can take on the Knicks and the Pacers... but not any of those teams I mentioned before.

This has got to be one of the most incredulous signings I have ever witnessed... for the sheer amount of money without looking at the rest of the holes in the team.

 

For the amount of money that they gave rashard, they could have kept hill, resigned darko and signed gerald wallace and probally signed a pavlovic/ barnes withe their mle. That's rediculous. hill+darko+wallace+barnes>>>>>>>>>>> rashard