Rashard Lewis joining the Magic

[Mo Z. Dizzle]

Lewis agrees to deal with Orlando
By TIM BOOTH, Associated Press Writer
July 3, 2007

Seattle SuperSonics' Rashard Lewis, center, shoots over Detroit Pistons' Rasheed Wallace, left, and Tayshaun Prince, right, in the second half of a NBA basketball game in Seattle in this March 13, 2007 file photo. Lewis agreed to a "maximum contract" with the Orlando Magic, his agent Tony Dutt said Tuesday, July 3, 2007.
AP - Jul 3, 5:20 pm EDT


SEATTLE (AP) -- Rashard Lewis is leaving the Northwest and taking his game to Orlando.

One of the most sought-after free agents this offseason, Lewis agreed to a "maximum contract" with the Magic, his agent Tony Dutt said Tuesday.

Lewis made the decision late Monday night after meeting with Magic officials in Orlando.

"He had a comfort and a gut feeling and he feels they have a championship core, and that's what he wants to do is win a championship," Dutt said.

The terms of the deal are still being worked out, but Lewis is expected to receive a deal in the range of $15 million per season. The Magic wouldn't comment Tuesday, citing league rules that an agreement cannot be announced until July 11.


Orlando can only sign Lewis to a five-year contract, while Seattle could sign Lewis to a six-year deal. Dutt said the Magic and Seattle are in discussions about a sign-and-trade deal that would give Lewis that sixth year, help Orlando clear some salary and give Seattle something in return.

Sonics officials would not comment on the possibility of a sign-and-trade.

"That he's going to Orlando doesn't change the fact that he had good years in Seattle," Dutt said.

Lewis opted out of the final two years of his contract with Seattle in late May, leaving behind a guaranteed $21 million, and hoping to cash in with a big money contract from any number of suitors.

Seattle, the only team Lewis has played for, had the first chance to meet with the 6-foot-10 forward Sunday morning in Houston. Seattle was among 20 teams that contacted Dutt on Sunday, the first day of NBA free agency. New Seattle general manager Sam Presti just traded Ray Allen to Boston, but said publicly his hopes for the future included Lewis teaming with No. 2 overall pick Kevin Durant.

But the Sonics and Lewis never got into discussions about money and soon after his meeting with Seattle, Lewis boarded a plane for Orlando and liked what he heard from the Magic, including the chance to play with Dwight Howard.

Lewis told the Florida Today newspaper Tuesday afternoon that Orlando was at the top of his list from the start, largely due to the opportunity to team with Howard.

"Me and my agent sat down and talked about it after the season and we determined that Orlando would be No. 1, and when they gave me that call on the first (of July) I was just so excited," Lewis told the newspaper, while waiting at the Orlando airport for a flight to Houston.

"I'm just extremely excited because this seems like the perfect fit. We've got a great big man in Dwight Howard and the team is still real young, so we're only going to get better and better together. If you look at it, if you want to win a championship you have to have that big man, and with Dwight here we can do that."

Lewis is coming off his best season, when he averaged career highs in points (22.4), rebounds (6.6) and assists (2.4). His age (28 next month) and his ability to hit 3-pointers or score on the low block made Lewis a targeted commodity for many teams.

It has been quite the rise for Lewis. He entered the NBA draft out of high school in 1998, but surprisingly fell out of the first round, getting taken by Seattle with the 32nd pick. He matured into an All-Star during the 2004 season when Seattle reached the conference semifinals, and averaged 20 or more points each of the last three seasons.

"This is one of the most exciting days of my life, next to getting drafted into the NBA," Lewis told Florida Today. "I'm just so exited about seeing my future here and being involved with a first-class organization. I can't wait to get started because I think we can win a championship here someday."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AshGi3d7rTwslbvaiRBJvyC8vLYF?slug=ap-magic-lewis&prov=ap&type=lgns

[GangstaBoogy]

Okay? They need to be getting a point guard or a veteran big man to help Dwight Howard. I'm a big Rashard Lewis fan but I don't see how this helps that team much.

[floatin_above_everything]

Okay? They need to be getting a point guard or a veteran big man to help Dwight Howard. I'm a big Rashard Lewis fan but I don't see how this helps that team much.

Your right, Jameer Nelson isn't gonna be enough, and Hill isn't gonna be a force much longer, if he still is one at all.

[Antonio_]

Jameer Nelson is just horrible. He can't defend at all, and he shot them unbalanced threes like a moron.
Shit, at least there's a team in the NBA who's more fucked up than us in the PG spot, lol!

[floatin_above_everything]

Jameer Nelson is just horrible. He can't defend at all, and he shot them unbalanced threes like a moron.
Shit, at least there's a team in the NBA who's more fucked up than us in the PG spot, lol!

Naw, he ain't that bad.

[GangstaBoogy]

^ he suck! He's not a good scorer, not a good play maker, not that quick for a lil guy, and is horrible on the defensive end. Too bad they can't get someone like Andre Miller - he'd be perfect for Howard.

[floatin_above_everything]

^ he suck! He's not a good scorer, not a good play maker, not that quick for a lil guy, and is horrible on the defensive end. Too bad they can't get someone like Andre Miller - he'd be perfect for Howard.

Well yeah, a pass 1st pg would be a better look for Howard, all I'm sayin is Nelson is still better than Smush/Farmar imo.

[GangstaBoogy]

^ Parker? Not really. Farmar? For now...give the dude 2 more seasons then let's talk.

[7even]

lakers need to spend their mle on a PG, there is no other way. that rookie they signed and farmar are both not ready to start.. imagine them playing 35 minutes a game during the playoffs.... that ain't gonna work. lakers desparately need a more experienced PG who knows what he's doing.

[Antonio_]

Jameer Nelson is just horrible. He can't defend at all, and he shot them unbalanced threes like a moron.
Shit, at least there's a team in the NBA who's more fucked up than us in the PG spot, lol!

Naw, he ain't that bad.

I don't like him at all, homie. He ain't a real PG. He ain't a leader. He doesn't defend at all. He has none of the things i wanna see in my starting PG. He's a shot-first type of player, and i don't like PG's with that mentality (no matter how skilled they are). I like PG's like Jason Kidd (Andre Miller, Steve Nash, etc..), who makes easy things and who thinks about improving their teammates and sharing the ball. I remember Andre Miller in the Rookie All-Star game. He got booed by the fans because he was making easy passes, easy things, lay-ups, no forced shots, good defence, etc.. That's my fucking PG!! I loved it. Nelson defends worse than JJ Redick, if possile, LOL!! Shit he defends so bad that his coach can't put both him and Redick on the floor at the same time. And he thinks he's a great player. Lemme tell you the truth: i'd rather have Farmar (and i don't like him) than Nelson in my team. At least Farmar is still a kid.

[Antonio_]

lakers need to spend their mle on a PG, there is no other way. that rookie they signed and farmar are both not ready to start.. imagine them playing 35 minutes a game during the playoffs.... that ain't gonna work. lakers desparately need a more experienced PG who knows what he's doing.

Def.

[floatin_above_everything]

Jameer Nelson is just horrible. He can't defend at all, and he shot them unbalanced threes like a moron.
Shit, at least there's a team in the NBA who's more fucked up than us in the PG spot, lol!

Naw, he ain't that bad.

I don't like him at all, homie. He ain't a real PG. He ain't a leader. He doesn't defend at all. He has none of the things i wanna see in my starting PG. He's a shot-first type of player, and i don't like PG's with that mentality (no matter how skilled they are). I like PG's like Jason Kidd (Andre Miller, Steve Nash, etc..), who makes easy things and who thinks about improving their teammates and sharing the ball. I remember Andre Miller in the Rookie All-Star game. He got booed by the fans because he was making easy passes, easy things, lay-ups, no forced shots, good defence, etc.. That's my fucking PG!! I loved it. Nelson defends worse than JJ Redick, if possile, LOL!! Shit he defends so bad that his coach can't put both him and Redick on the floor at the same time. And he thinks he's a great player. Lemme tell you the truth: i'd rather have Farmar (and i don't like him) than Nelson in my team. At least Farmar is still a kid.

At the same time, Nelson is a young player too. Last year he didn't play well, but the previous season he did great. Let's remember that Jammer doesn't have many options to give the ball to, he is the team's best shooter. Very inconsistent in 06-07, but he WILL have a chance to become a much better player. I'll agree with the fact that his defense is probably gonna be the weakest point of his career, he is very small. But I see potential in Nelson, more so than Farmar imo, and Smush is a punk ass imo, he'd still be shoot first PG, and his attitude will seal his fate in the L.

[Antonio_]

Jameer Nelson is just horrible. He can't defend at all, and he shot them unbalanced threes like a moron.
Shit, at least there's a team in the NBA who's more fucked up than us in the PG spot, lol!

Naw, he ain't that bad.

I don't like him at all, homie. He ain't a real PG. He ain't a leader. He doesn't defend at all. He has none of the things i wanna see in my starting PG. He's a shot-first type of player, and i don't like PG's with that mentality (no matter how skilled they are). I like PG's like Jason Kidd (Andre Miller, Steve Nash, etc..), who makes easy things and who thinks about improving their teammates and sharing the ball. I remember Andre Miller in the Rookie All-Star game. He got booed by the fans because he was making easy passes, easy things, lay-ups, no forced shots, good defence, etc.. That's my fucking PG!! I loved it. Nelson defends worse than JJ Redick, if possile, LOL!! Shit he defends so bad that his coach can't put both him and Redick on the floor at the same time. And he thinks he's a great player. Lemme tell you the truth: i'd rather have Farmar (and i don't like him) than Nelson in my team. At least Farmar is still a kid.

At the same time, Nelson is a young player too. Last year he didn't play well, but the previous season he did great. Let's remember that Jammer doesn't have many options to give the ball to, he is the team's best shooter. Very inconsistent in 06-07, but he WILL have a chance to become a much better player. I'll agree with the fact that his defense is probably gonna be the weakest point of his career, he is very small. But I see potential in Nelson, more so than Farmar imo, and Smush is a punk ass imo, he'd still be shoot first PG, and his attitude will seal his fate in the L.

Sorry man, but i just don't like players who can't defend. That's all. Farmar is not a great defender, but he ain't that horrible. And Smush ain't a great defender too, but he can do a pretty decent job, when he wants to. Nelson can't.

[floatin_above_everything]

Jameer Nelson is just horrible. He can't defend at all, and he shot them unbalanced threes like a moron.
Shit, at least there's a team in the NBA who's more fucked up than us in the PG spot, lol!

Naw, he ain't that bad.

I don't like him at all, homie. He ain't a real PG. He ain't a leader. He doesn't defend at all. He has none of the things i wanna see in my starting PG. He's a shot-first type of player, and i don't like PG's with that mentality (no matter how skilled they are). I like PG's like Jason Kidd (Andre Miller, Steve Nash, etc..), who makes easy things and who thinks about improving their teammates and sharing the ball. I remember Andre Miller in the Rookie All-Star game. He got booed by the fans because he was making easy passes, easy things, lay-ups, no forced shots, good defence, etc.. That's my fucking PG!! I loved it. Nelson defends worse than JJ Redick, if possile, LOL!! Shit he defends so bad that his coach can't put both him and Redick on the floor at the same time. And he thinks he's a great player. Lemme tell you the truth: i'd rather have Farmar (and i don't like him) than Nelson in my team. At least Farmar is still a kid.

At the same time, Nelson is a young player too. Last year he didn't play well, but the previous season he did great. Let's remember that Jammer doesn't have many options to give the ball to, he is the team's best shooter. Very inconsistent in 06-07, but he WILL have a chance to become a much better player. I'll agree with the fact that his defense is probably gonna be the weakest point of his career, he is very small. But I see potential in Nelson, more so than Farmar imo, and Smush is a punk ass imo, he'd still be shoot first PG, and his attitude will seal his fate in the L.

Sorry man, but i just don't like players who can't defend. That's all. Farmar is not a great defender, but he ain't that horrible. And Smush ain't a great defender too, but he can do a pretty decent job, when he wants to. Nelson can't.

I completley understand what your sayin. Nelson is TOO small to guard anyone. The only reason I'd give him the benefit of the doubt over the Lakers 2, is that I feel he has more potential. Parker & Farmar may be better defenders, but are they ever gonna get the playing time to prove it? You are right, if he can't get better on defense,  he won't have a lengthy career cuz he aint a big dude. I do think he will improve, especially because he has a team that is willing to put time into Nelson. Plus, if I was on Orlando, I wouldn't be TOO worried about cutting off penetration, especially when #12 is behind me to send that shot into the stands.

[Antonio_]

Yeah.