ESPN.com says Rashard Lewis is off to Orlando
ESPN.com's Marc Stein is reporting tonight that Rashard Lewis has agreed to a max contract with Orlando and will sign the deal on July 11, the first day free agents can sign new deals.
This doesn't exactly break my heart. I would have liked to keep Lewis, but I'm not convinced he's a max player -- he's got one All-Star selection under his belt, and even that was tenuous, brought about mostly because the team was having success.
He's a nice player, but not a superstar. I don't want to see the Sonics handcuffed by a bad contract, the way the Wolves were when they gave Wally Szczerbiak his fat deal. A max deal to Lewis probably would have done that.
Now, we'll see how good Presti is. The one thing the Sonics had going for them was that they could offer him a six-year contract; the most Orlando can offer is five. Let's see if Presti can really earn his money by negotiating a sign-and-trade with the Magic, where Lewis gets his six-year deal and the Sonics get some kind of return on him. That also would be best for the Magic, who still have designs on signing Darko Milicic. A sign-and-trade would give them enough cap space to still sign him, which they wouldn't be able to do otherwise.
I don't know exactly what the Sonics might get in return, but I know there are other people out there way smarter than me who break that stuff down. When I run across it, I'll pass it along.
2 comments:
1st preference- sign and trade for quality players who will contribute.
2nd preference- let him go and just let Presti do his thing with other "assets" on the team.
NOT a preference- take on other team's bad contracts in a sign and trade.
If we can get a guy like Mo Williams with our 8 or 9 million (obviously slightly over cap, but under the luxury); and then make a trade to acquire Rip Hamilton-- and I don't mind!
(rumor is: Rip and Mohammed for Wilcox,Watson, Wilkens)
PG: Williams/West/Ridnour
SG: Hamilton/Szczerbiak/West
SF: Durant/Green/Gelebale
PF: Green/Collison/Durant
C: Swift/Collison/Mohammed/Petro
Wishful thinking, but you would have to think something further is planned.
I love the idea of bringing on Rip Hamilton and unloading Wilcox. Hamilton would give the team a bona fide scorer from the outside who also can play defense, and I say good riddance to Wilcox.
There's a good reason he never panned out with the Clips, either: The guy just does not bring it on a nightly basis. If he used that athleticism every night, by all means, keep him. But you can't get 25 points and 15 rebounds one night and 8 points and 5 rebounds the next. It is not a recipe for winning basketball. Let him become the Pistons' problem.
Mohammed also would give some much-needed toughness inside.
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