Well, our half-baked, not actually believed in nor desired dream of Rashard Lewis becoming a Cleveland Cavalier is over.
Last night, Mr. Lewis agreed to a max deal with the Orlando Magic, leaving the Sonics with nothing to show for arguably their best player, unless a sign-and-trade can be worked out between now and July 11th, when the contract can be signed. (Unlikely – these things rarely change after the news breaks.)
This is terrific news for the Magic – Shard and Dwight Howard are a nice combo, and if Jameer Nelson’s talent can start to live up to his drive and leadership abilities, ORL is at the very least a playoff team for the present and near future. Factor in that Orlando is a always a desirable free agent spot (no state income tax) and the fans have to feel pretty nice-like.
The semi-tragedy here is what happens with Darko Milicic, whom the Magic had to renounce in order to free enough room under the salary cap. He’s poised to become an unrestricted free agent, which instantly makes him, for reasons unknown, the most desirable free agent big man on the market.
He’s destined for a ludicrous $9-10M per year deal, which is insane in most states. (Have the folks at Lakersground.net declared Darko their savior yet? By this afternoon maybe? Darko and Kwame would make quite the “busted big man high draft pick” couple, would they not? Sign Michael Olowakandi and you’re really doing something special there.)
NOTE: Not to sound unsympathetic, but there’s something strange about Derek Fisher being asked to be let out of his Utah Jazz contract, even if it is to watch over his sick daughter. Why do this now? Why not wait until closer to the season, or just say, “Hey, I may consider not playing this season”? Why not officially “retire” so as to make things make sense? Let things play themselves out.
There’s just something weird here, especially when his agent already says they’d consider looking at the Lakers. We just don’t want to see a rahs of agents making up “my kid is sick” stories in order to get their clients out on the open market, y’know?
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what about the rumors of Anderson Varejao going to Memphis?
That would leave CLE with Scot Pollard and not much else.
Another moment out of the persona, if you will.
This trade demonstrates how Pritchard is as savvy as Isiah is inept and short-sighted. In the next couple of years, Pritchard’s going to want to re-sign Aldridge, Roy, and Oden, and he’ll have the cap flexibility to do as much, because Steve Francis’s horrendous contract expires in 2009. Randolph’s contract, on the other hand, runs its course in 2011, leaving the team absolutely no cap space for the foreseeable future.
This, of course, overlooks all the other obvious factors. First, Zach Randolph is, at worst, a headcase, and, at best, not a team player, and he will destroy any semblance of chemistry remaining in the Knicks’ locker room. Second, he will siphon even more minutes away from David Lee, a hard-working, non-headcase talent who could start for maybe 20 NBA teams–including the Knicks–but has spent too much of his career languishing on the bench under Zeke’s auspices. Third, having him and Eddy Curry on the court at the same time might cause Madison Square Garden to collapse.
yup, right on schedule. Good move for Rashard, good move for the Magic.
I think a lot of people are hella sleeping on Darko. I mean, $9-10 mil is crazy, but the dude’s worth an MLE for sure. Everyone forgets that he’s only 22 and he was on the verge of a breakout season last year. Sure, he’ll never be a 3 pt shooter, but he can score on the block and facing up, he can pass pretty well for a 4, decent shot blocker. I can easily see him putting up 13/8 type numbers with a couple of assists and blocks thrown in if he gets the minutes; he’s already a hell of of a lot better than Kwame ever will be.
oh, and I hate to say it, but the Jazz are better off basketball-wise minus Fisher. I wish the dude nothing but the best, but being a veteran doesn’t overcome being a slow, 6′0″ shooting guard.
Yeah, that’s exactly what Memphis needs: another soft, white big man.
Actually though, he probably would fit in there.
Steve: all the reasons you list are EXACTLY what makes Z-Bo in NYC the most fantastic thing to happen this offseason.
About Derek Fisher. He stated clearly in his press conference that he wasn’t retiring from basketball. It’s just that because of the severity of the illness his daughter has he can only play in seven (or so) cities around the country because of the medical attention she needs. I thought it was a great move by the Jazz to let him out of his contract. Fisher has always been a good guy and he deserved to be treated this way
Henry Abbott has a great rundown of the situation:
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-26-4/Think-Good-Thoughts-for-the-Fisher-Family.html
the problem with paying guys what the Magic are going to pay Rashard is that it leaves nothing in the bank account to sign quality bench guys (see: CLE), so you’re left with a bunch of has-beens and/or really-never-weres…
Oh well, good for the Magic. At least until Dwight Howard gets traded to LA and the vicious cycle starts all over again.
Cav,
I had laugh at “no state income tax”. While that’s true, Mr. Lewis is going to be paying quite high insurance rates on his new home in the Orlando area thanks to our numerous hurricanes. Good thing he got that max contract.
at least the Nets saved Orlando from trying throw the same kind of $ at the older, infinitely less worthful Invinsanity.
and if Varejao does go to Memphis, do him and Pau speak Spanish, Portueguese or some kind of pidgin mashup the two? If only Al Horford was there to resolve any Romance language conflicts.
(yeah, I know, Varejao and Gasol probably both speak like 17 languages)
The Cavs are 1 step closer to becoming a tragedy next season.
Jordi,
Insurance rates on homes in Orlando ain’t that bad. Insurance folks know that, outside of a major flood zone (see Katrina), the only people who get hurt by Hurricanes are the homeless and those who reside in trailer parks. Orlando’s got lots of trailer parks on the outskirts, but here’s guessing that Lewis’s new spot will be somewhat more sturdy.
Also, don’t forget about the underated perks of going with the Magic–Free SA-8, LOC, and MCI long distance. It’s the American Way!
Ha HA! What about these Artest to New York rumors…think of it: Artest AND Randolph on the same team…
Artest thinks, “That little shove-fest with the Nuggets? I’LL show these punks how to brawl!”
Oh please tell me Artest is going to NY! Please! Curry, Randolph, Artest, Crawford, Marbury. That would be the most disfunctional team ever.
Cobra that Fisher thing sounds a little better since he’s being straight up about this – I misunderstood what was happening and jumped the gun. I still think it sets a dangerous precedent for some of the sleazier agents to possibly be able to follow.
A rahs of agents?
Is that like a pride of lions?
Fish was a leader off the court for the team, providing veteran leadership and all (and really helping along the development of Deron, so it seems). On the court, though, he was horribly mis-used by Jerry Sloan, starting something like the last 45 games of the season as a 2-guard (which he’s obviously not).
As for his decision to do it now… the Jazz and Fish have been talking about it for a while. I don’t think the Jazz would just let him out of his contract 10 seconds after he asks. They tried to find other alternatives, but this was the best option for both teams. Doing it now also gives Fish time to find a city (and team), and gives the Jazz plenty of time to find a replacement (since they now have no back-up to Deron).
I don’t want to see a rahs of anything, I have no idea what it means
rahs… al ghul?
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