Magic to sign contract with Mickael Pietrus

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Magic to sign contract with Pietrus

BY JOHN DENTON • FLORIDA TODAY • July 8, 2008

ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic have reached a verbal agreement with shooting guard Mickael Pietrus and expect to sign him to a multi-year contract Wednesday, general manager Otis Smith confirmed to FLORIDA TODAY.
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Pietrus, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound shooting guard, is expected to earn almost all of the Mid-Level Exception, starting at 5.2 million next season. Pietrus, a native of Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, France, played all five of his NBA seasons with the Golden State Warriors.

The signing of Pietrus ends the Magic's chase of free-agent shooting guard Corey Maggette and could end their chances of retaining combo guard Keyon Dooling.

Pietrus is especially appealing to the Magic because of his ability to defend. He is a strong defender with a long wingspan, traits that appealed to Smith. Smith, who used to work with the Golden State Warriors, is quite familiar with Pietrus' toughness and defensive grit.

Smith said the Magic needed to upgrade their shooting guard position in order to make a dramatic improvement next season. He is expected to be the opening day starter at shooting guard.

``In the Eastern Conference you had better be able to defend that position. We think he can really help us do that. And he can shoot the 3.''

The signing also means that last season's starting shooting guard, Maurice Evans, likely won't return.

Pietrus fell out of favor in Golden State last season under coach Don Nelson, averaging 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds. He shot 44 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from the 3-point line. He's averaged 8.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in five NBA seasons.



Good signing for Orlando...I wonder where Evans is gunna go?

[Lunatic]

good move..never understood why gsw shitted on him - did i miss somethin?

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^He never really fit their style or got consistent minutes.

[Tay]

^^Exactly..Being a bench player for Don Nelson isn't easy, he will break into all sorts of different lineups, and it's hard to get consistent minutes. With Ellis and Jackson getting so many minutes, it didn't leave much time for reserves, and they had Azubuike, Pietrus, and Barnes, so they tried moving them around with different positions and things. Pietrus was reportedly wanting a trade last season, but it didn't happen. Good luck to him, I think he is a good fit in Orlando, he is a solid player..After all, he is the "French Michael Jordan".

[Lunatic]

^sure is a heck of a player

[Sanford - V. President of the Dangerous Crew Movement]

finally.

good move..never understood why gsw shitted on him - did i miss somethin?

i would have questioned your intelligence but its obvious you havent seen most of the warrior games.   

[GangstaBoogy]

Orlando just needs an upgrade at the PG spot and they're gonna be a real fuckin problem.

[Sparegeez]

I never understood why Warrior fans hated him so much. He reminds me of Sean Marion

[Tay]

^^I think it's just because he was such a high pick and had some hype around him, I guess he really dominated back in Europe. I think they expected him to be a star or something, but he performed solidly for the last couple years. It's not that big of a deal though, not much playing time up for grabs with Ellis, Jackson, Maggette, and Azubuike already there.

["THE" MoSav]

Seemed like whenever he played he produced..