Rashard Lewis Reaches Agreement with the Magic
According to ESPN, Sonic SF Rashard Lewis has decided to leave the rainy city for the sunshine state, which means Otis Smith, GM of the Magic, must be creative in order to create some more cap room to resign Darko Milicic.
2 things here: Magic is giving Lewis a max contract that reportedly is about 15 mil a year. I have never been a huge Lewis fan because he rarely shows that he cares for the game. He can have all the talent in the world but lacks the passion to be a top player, only talks like one. Now he is even paid like one. But I am staying positive here, Lewis can’t really handle the pressure well, he usually plays the side-kick role and rarely take advantage of the situation when he can be the man - not just for a game or 2, but for the team. So playing in a Magic system where Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson are the current faces of the franchise, Lewis may be able to thrive as the 2nd/3rd scoring option with plenty good looks as Howard continue to demand double teams in the paint. Lewis is also more athletic and better defender than Hedo Turkoglu, creating more flexibility for defensive match-ups.
2ndly, does the signing of Lewis mean the departure of Darko and the end of twin tower experiment? I certainly don’t hope so. Darko was still raw last season, but he is find out how to play again, and more importantly - how to play along side with Howard. Keyon Dooling’s contract is up next year, Battie has value but his 4-year 22 mil extension they gave him during 05-06 season certainly does not help. Darko didn’t wow many critics during his first full season, but his potential is certainly still there.
It should be a busy summer for the Magic…
PS. Derek Fisher was released by Utah Jazz so he may take care of his 11-old daughter who has cancer in her left eye. According to ESPN, Fisher plans on moving to a different city with the right combination of health care and specialists. While he may play for some other team, family comes first. I have always loved Fisher when he played for the Lakers, he does strike me as the type of person that gets his priority right. I wish and his daughter the best.
- Paul
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[…] keep him in his rhythm, providing the Magic two more deadly shooter in the perimeter along with the signing of Rashard Lewis. That should help the team space the court better, helping Dwight Howard in the middle, although […]