What I like about the Rashard noise is that atleast the Rockets management sees that we were not really even close to being a champion, so they are out making noise to try to get us there.
Tough call for Rashard. Be a star and make an extra 10 million per season or come play for your home team who passed you up 3 times in the draft for the MLE. He can live in Houston the rest of his life but will only get this max contract offer now. He knows he'll probably retire by 35. I'm sure he'll be comfortable living in a 30 bedroom mansion in Orlando for 4 or 5 years before moving back to his house in Houston. Maybe he'll play his final 2 years if healthy as a Rocket if we're winning or jump on the bandwagon of a team going for a champpionship ring if he doesn't get one in Orlando. Seems the trendy way to get a ring nowadays for role players who used to be a stars. Despite what many say, i think most all here would be trying on Magic jerseys if they were in his shoes.
I think the deal is if he wants to come to Houston he can ask to be traded here and it would be up to Seattle if they wanted a package Battier Sura and x player or would they rather have nothing...if it is nothing he goes to the MAgic....no one here believes he will sign the MLE to play for us..only chance it happens is if he and Seattle think what we offer is best for them... -V
lewis just got on a plane to orlando looks like he may be going after the money Rashard in Orlando, and moreposted: Sunday, July 1, 2007 | Print Entry Rashard Lewis was on a plane to Orlando early Sunday evening to meet with the Magic after hearing a pitch from the Seattle SuperSonics. Waiting anxiously to see how it would all play out was Darko Milicic, who had not -- repeat, had not -- received a phone call from the Magic (as of 5:30 p.m. ET) on his first day as a restricted free agent. "Is he restricted or unrestricted?" Magic general manager Otis Smith told ESPN.com. "Look, Darko knows that we love him and want him here. What else is there to do?" The situation was fluid, with the Magic having the option to move more than $15 million below the salary cap if they decided to renounce their rights to Milicic by withdrawing their $6.8 million qualifying offer. And although such a move seemed unlikely -- the Magic would lose all rights to the 22-year-old big man -- it was not out of the realm of possibility on a somewhat frantic first day of free agency. There was no immediate word on how the meeting went between Lewis and the Sonics, whose team executives flew to Houston to meet with Lewis and his agent, Tony Dutt. But the very fact that Lewis later boarded a plane to Orlando was a sign that the Sonics had not made the unrestricted free agent an offer he couldn't refuse. "Right now, I think we have the same chance as 13 other teams," Smith said. "But if you have the ability to try to add a player like Rashard Lewis, you do it." Milicic's agent, Marc Cornstein, said he had heard from roughly half the teams in the league since the start of free agency at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday. "What I make of it [the lack of a phone call from Orlando] is nothing other than they're interested in Rashard, which was never a secret," Cornstein said. "But whatever the case, we're going to be talking to them at some point to move forward." Two deals were made quickly Sunday, Jason Kapono agreeing to go from Miami to Toronto for four years and $24 million, and Luke Walton agreeing to stay with the Lakers for $30 million over six years. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak placed a call to Walton's agent one minute after midnight to express the team's interest in retaining its best unrestricted free agent. "They called at the earliest possible moment, and we worked on it all day," agent Lon Babby said. "They wanted him back, and Luke wanted to be there. We wanted to make every effort to get an agreement before we went out and looked at any other teams." Another of Babby's clients, Grant Hill, had one of his more lucrative options taken away when the Toronto Raptors decided to spend their midlevel exception on Kapono. Babby said Hill's list of possible teams now includes, in no particular order, Detroit, Miami, Phoenix, San Antonio and Orlando. "The financial considerations are fairly low on his list of priorities," Babby said. "He wants the opportunity to play on a championship team, and if he has to make a financial sacrifice, he would do that." I also spoke today with agent Mark Bartelstein, who said the Milwaukee Bucks were among several teams who called during the first three hours of free agency regarding his client, Mo Williams. "There's a whole lot of interest, 12 or 13 teams," Bartelstein said. "Lots of teams are looking for a point guard. People are getting feel for what it will take. The market is a very strange thing, and when the time is right you pull the trigger."
Seattle: PG Watson/Alston/Brooks SG Battier/Head SF Green/Gelabale PF Durant/Wilcox/Sene C Collison/Swift/Petro You guys did see Durant play at UT, right? And you did see that he couldn't even get 185 up on the bench during the pre-draft workouts, right? And you're gonna play him at PF?? Don't get me wrong, I wish we could have got him, but he is NOT a PF, and probably never will be. He's a SG/SF...
They're coming off of a bad season, but they drafted Durant, that's all the buzz they need from a PR standpoint, so they don't need Lewis or players to take back. Heck, they may want to (and will) get back in the lottery to get a high pick next year to pair with Durant and Green to try to combat Portland, because they both know that they are a couple of seasons away from the playoffs again. Orlando it is.
Agree and disagree. From a pure player perspective, Seattle should salivate over the opportunity to add someone like Battier to the team. You're talking about the perfect professional to tutor their 2 rookies. Jeff Green should be basically Battier on steroids, and Durant should be Green on steroids. Having Battier around would be a good thing, and do little to keep them out of the lotto next year. The problem, of course, is Shane has what, 4 years left on his deal. He's not getting paid a ridiculous amount, but would be on the books for a while. Plus, they jsut picked up Wally, who is getting paid. Still, to the extent that the Sonics would probably be over the cap for the next few years anyway, and that Shane is that type of player who seems to keep trade value, I could see them being interested. At the end of the day, as long as it's not Seattle, that's cool with me. Theoretically, Darko becomes free if Rashard goes to Orlando.
