"Rashard Lewis' Agent: "There is No Better Fit Than Orlando"" Meaning Magic can offer the most amount of money. Nothing wrong with that. At least now Morey can concentrate on a surer deal.
After Lewis, these free agents are absolute crap. None are worthy of starting over Chuck except for Joe Smith, and even that is debatable.
You know, I understand the concern over the defense of Rashard, but I really don't think the rebounding is a big deal as long as we keep Hayes. When you look back at some of the championship teams, like the Magic Jabbar Lakers, you will see that James Worthy only averaged around 5 boards a game while playing major minutes. Kareem wasn't that big of a rebounder, I'd say Yao is either equal or superior to him on the glass during those years, Magic got his 6 a game (TMac), Byron picked up 4-5 (James/VSpan/Bonzi), and they typically had a banger (Green/Rambis) coming off the bench picking up about 8 boards in around 30 minutes (Hayes). And Worthy was not exactly a good defender either. I'm not worried about the boards with Rashard. In fact, I think having Rashard on the floor at the PF spot with McGrady and Shane/Bonzi and James makes us a better rebounding team than when Howard was here. The floor is going to be wide open and Yao is going to pick up and extra offensive rebound or 2 per game just because he is cleaning up from a distance miss by one of those guys after they've rotated the defense out to the perimeter. I suppose if he can be had for $10-$12 million, we've got to do it. He's too good offensively and he makes us unstoppable offensively, and the improved defense we are going to get from James/Spanoulis over Rafer should help decrease the defensive defeciency created by the loss of Shane. However, still can't see Seattle doing anything with us. They'd rather let him walk to Orlando for nothing, I would think.
I like Rashard and all but I still do not see how he addresses our PF needs. We all know we need a PF who will be aggressive in the paint, get rebounds, help out yao on the defensive side, and be able to make at least a mid-range shot.... So my question is how come nobody has even started a thread (or at least i didnt see one) about us going after someone like Nene?? Not only would he fit our needs but we also have the perfect trade bait to get him. Denver desparately needs help in the backcourt esp. with their shooting. Luther Head would provide just that. Also, even though Steve Blake is a servicable enough pg, I believe Alston would be an upgrade for them. Alston may not be as consistent of a shooter as Blake but overall i believe he would be an upgrade for them. Another reason is that denver is now crowded in the frontcourt with the return of K-Mart next year and i dont think anybody would want his bloated contract right now since his value is at an all time low so trading him now would be tough. and with the fact that they already have much cheaper backups such as Evans and Najera, I dont see how giving up Nene would be an unlikely scenario for Denver. What do ya'll think of this deal? I mean i dont know all the details financially or contract-wise so would this be a deal that the Rockets should be considering?
Somebody will pay him. For God sakes Marbury makes over $20 million a year. Antawn Jamison, a player he's very similar to in a lot of regards, $16 million+. Somebody will pay him. I hope you're right but i'm still skeptical. If his goal is to remain a 20 PPG scorer and borderline All-Star then it won't happen in Houston. It's very unlikely that he, Yao and T-Mac could all reach their expected scoring averages. So basically he would accept less money and about a 5-8 PPG drop in his scoring average all just to win in his hometown that's passed on him? I have my doubts......
Think outside the box. The game is changing. Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki. They are SF that play PF. Sure there are still some traditional PFs like Duncan, and Brand, but there are a lot of quick PFs. In fact Boozer plays more of a quick game than a power game. I call the new PF position "Combo-Forward" much like the every popular combo-guard. The "combo forward" has the speed of a SF and the length of a PF. And when you play next to Yao, speed and length are more important that sheer girth. The game is changing to speed. People can play zone now, which favors speed and length. Rashard in Houston would play a lot of SF minutes with Tmac at SG. But I am sure you would see a lot of times where Rashard was at PF, Tmac at SF and Bonzi at SG. Bonzi's rebounding in this lineup could offset some of the physical limitations of Rashard at PF.
Well, thet are the front-runner for sure. They have the cap room to sign him out right and have a nice up and coming team he can win with in the East. Deciding to play next to Dwight Howard is not a bad option. Saying all that, that quote is basically his agent making sure that the team with the most cap gets involved to raise his value. I agree, but the players you mentioned are all willing rebounders who board at a nice rate. Rashard has never shown he wants to be in that paint what-so-ever. But, saying all that about how the league is changing, the four teams in the conference finals still were very traditional in front court play (Wallace/Webber, Boozer/Okur, Gooden/Ilgauskas, Oberto Duncan).
I don't think we can afford it. But in the case that we do, I think we could be really good in the short run, but really stretching for money in the long run. And of course, the everlasting problem at PF... I think most of us agree that Lewis will get destroyed at the 4!
Lewis' agent likes fit in Orlando Brian Schmitz The Orlando Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla. - Sounds as if J.J. Redick might have to start looking for a new uniform number with the Orlando Magic. Rashard Lewis has been wearing Redick's No. 7 for the Seattle SuperSonics, but the way his camp is talking, he'd like to slip it on in Orlando. "There is no better fit," said Tony Dutt, Lewis' agent. The NBA's free-agent courting period began Saturday night, and the Magic were expected to contact Lewis - their prime target this summer. Also on the Magic's radar: Vince Carter and Gerald Wallace, along with their own free agents - Darko Milicic and Grant Hill. Teams can't start signing free agents until July 11. Flush with ample salary-cap room (as much as $13 million) for the first time since acquiring Hill and Tracy McGrady in the summer of 2000, the Magic are searching for a scorer. A nine-year veteran, Lewis averaged 22.4 points last season with the Sonics. "Orlando is a good situation. It's a fit that could work," Dutt said. "If the parameters are there, they can make it work. "It's very intriguing to Rashard." The Magic also have several other positives that Lewis finds appealing. Dutt said they have "the big guy" - all-star center Dwight Howard - on their side and geography. Better than even being in Florida, Orlando is located in the wide-open Eastern Conference. Lewis has been frustrated playing on an also-ran in the powerhouse Western Conference against the likes of San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix. And while the Sonics drafted Kevin Durant - lauded universally as the best player in college basketball - he plays the same small-forward position as Lewis and will be marketed as the face of the franchise. Seattle fell back into a rebuilding mode, trading veteran Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics last week, leaving Lewis scratching his head. The Magic mostly are intriguing to Lewis, 27, because they are one of the few teams who have enough cap money. He can average $15 million per year over five seasons, although the Sonics can top any offer to re-sign him. That said - and agents tend to work the media trying to leverage the best deal for their clients - the Sonics have home-court advantage. They can offer Lewis a six-year contract (other teams can sign him for just five outside of a sign-and-trade arrangement), which translates to millions of guaranteed dollars. The Magic could work a sign-and-trade with the Sonics for him - shipping a player or two to Seattle - which would allow Lewis a six-year deal in Orlando. Dutt already was in Seattle on Saturday, according to reports, ready to meet with the Sonics face to face today on Lewis' behalf. So that begs the question: If the Magic lose Lewis as their go-to free agent, who's their backup? Who's Plan B? It widely is believed that Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons) and Carter (New Jersey Nets) will remain with their teams, erasing more options for the Magic. Magic General Manager Otis Smith has another free agent in mind, but offers no hints. The backup plan could be Wallace, of the Charlotte Bobcats. The Magic likely will be speaking with the representatives for Milicic and Hill today. Hill, who will turn 35 in October, told the Sentinel shortly after the season that he would listen to other offers, but still is leaning toward a return to the Magic. The Suns, Spurs and his former team, the Pistons, reportedly are interested. He signed a seven-year, $92 million contract in 2000, but his career in Orlando largely was undermined by injuries for five seasons. Hill likely will receive an offer of the veteran's minimum (about $1.5 million) from the Magic. Milicic, of course, is the linchpin to the Magic's aggressive free-agent chase. He has a "cap-hold" number (about three times his current $6 million salary). Until Milicic either is re-signed or his rights renounced by the Magic, the club can't give its generous cap room to another player. Milicic is a restricted free agent, meaning the Magic can match any offer. The club has a contract figure in mind that it likely will present today to Milicic's agent, Marc Cornstein, probably somewhere just above the mid-level exception (say, starting at $7 million). Only the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies and Bobcats have enough spending money to accommodate a healthy salary for Milicic. The Bobcats likely are out of the running after using cap room to acquire Golden State guard Jason Richardson. The Magic don't want to be bidding against themselves for Milicic, who turned in a solid playoff performance after a largely inconsistent regular season. The Magic have said they are intent on re-signing him and getting a free agent, which could be tricky and require trading Hedo Turkoglu. "It can be done. Not easy, but it can he done," Smith said. The feeling, though, is the Magic are pressing for the Darko negotiations to be resolved fairly quickly so as not to lose Lewis. If the club and Milicic can't work out a deal, the Magic likely won't want their 7-foot asset to walk without compensation and will try to facilitate a sign-and-trade, perhaps for Lewis. http://www.theolympian.com/sports/story/150557.html
FLORIDA SPORTS BUZZ Heat has competition in effort to make deal for free agent Lewis By BARRY JACKSON bjackson@MiamiHerald.com Seattle free agent forward Rashard Lewis, one of Pat Riley's top targets, has ''a lot of interest'' in joining the Heat, according to agent Tony Dutt, and Dutt said he ''definitely'' plans to contact Miami as free agency starts today. ''[Lewis is] all about winning, and [the Heat] would be appealing,'' Dutt said. ``The question is, do they have the pieces to make something work? That's what we have to work on.'' The Heat, which has just the $5.5 million midlevel exception available, is exploring a sign-and-trade for Lewis, 27, who wants a maximum deal that could top $110 million over six years. Shaquille O'Neal, who figures to be enlisted to recruit Lewis, likes the idea. ''That's a good name,'' he said. But Miami faces competition from New York, Cleveland and Orlando (Lewis would strongly consider all three), and potentially Portland and Golden State. The Sonics say they want to try to re-sign Lewis, who averaged 22.4 points last season, and will meet with Dutt today. Those close to the Heat say Riley wants to do something major this summer. Miami's efforts to acquire Sacramento's Ron Artest have been rebuffed, but figure to be revisited. http://www.miamiherald.com/588/story/156946.html
Seems his agent implies Orlando is the front runner... http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/orl-magic0107jul01,0,4318763.story
I really like Rashard, too, ever since the Rockets screwed him on draft night. But... something to think about is if we land Rashard now, we can have Garnett in February. When the Wolves falter again, and Garnett decides he's going to opt out in '08, then we can trade Rashard for Garnett... I am surprised Morey didn't mention Mo Williams, Steve Francis, and Brendan Haywood.
The agent says that because Orlando has some cap room and wants to use them to force Seattle's hand. Orlando can be used here as a thread for Rashard to leave without giving Seattle anything in return. It is a threat to facilitate a Sign and Trade. Either to Orlando, Houston or somewhere else.
