Lewis + Howard = Magic

[MR Pain]

Power forward Rashard Lewis just officially signed with the orlando Magic. He averaged 22 points in his career at seattle, and led the team in 3 point percentage.

Now they are in the middle of signing Dwight Howard who everyone knows he is a beast.

rumor is that they are also signing jameer nelson, but letting go of Darko.
Personally I am a heat fan, but the magic are looking very good.


Pistons just signed billups for 60 million ! and he's worth it.

[ULikeApples]

Wasting all that $ on Lewis is a debacle. A one-dimensional player does not deserve a max contract. Well, maybe if his one dimension was 42 points a game, but not 22. They'll have two good players but no experienced vets b/c they wasted all their money on Lewis.

As for Billups, it's decent short term, but awful long term. He's already 30 and has started his decline. Paying him that money next season isn't bad, but at ages 34 and 35 they'll probably be buying him out to get him off the roster

[wayne1218]

Wasting all that $ on Lewis is a debacle. A one-dimensional player does not deserve a max contract. Well, maybe if his one dimension was 42 points a game, but not 22. They'll have two good players but no experienced vets b/c they wasted all their money on Lewis.

I agree. I don't think this does much more than a possible 6 seed in the east and a 1st round loss. Lewis isn't worth that coin (imo).

[MR Pain]

It's the east, you never know, and like apples said detroit is getting old as a team, same as miami, and new jersey.

all that matters in the east is getting into the playoffs, then you see where you can go from there.

[MR Pain]

I don't care how old he is, detroit goes nowhere fast without billups. your probably right about buying him out, but for now it was the only move to make, what would you let him go, then he signs with another east coast team and makes detroit pay for it for at least 3 years. He is one of the most clutch players i have ever seen in sports. They don't call him Mr Big Shot for nothing.

[molta02]

while the lewis contract is questionable (very), the magic will contend in the east for the forseeable future.

[ericeric]

while the lewis contract is questionable (very), the magic will contend in the east for the forseeable future.

What?

This contract ensures that the Magic will never be contenders in the East. I will never understand how this puts them in anything but a .500 no man's land for the foreseeable future. Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto all for sure have better futures, and Miami with Wade is right with them....and that's just with Wade.

Lewis gives them no dimension that comes close to scaring anyone in the East. They'll be the in the 12-18th range for the duration of that contract unless they really get lucky with a pick or 3. Sucks cause Howard is such a good young talent.

[Spearit]

Whats mostly missing here is the thinking on Orlando's part. Hill soak up a great deal of money while hobbled mostly by ankle injuries, Hill played in about a third of the Magic's regular-season games after signing a $93-million, seven-year contract with them so that mistake went West to the Suns.
Now comes Lewis at 27, who believes in the Magic and adds a critical piece to their armament. He has the ability to protect Howard in the low post and fire away at 3's which he led Seattle in.
The thinking is sound- should produce. The Magic had nothing else really going and did not want to gamble on Hill any longer. Phoenix will find out for a lot less that Hill will not be able to keep up with the fast pace of the Suns. Darko wanted to much money and is still developing.
So- Build around Howard and provide him what he needs to improve his game as a Superstar. Add the proven commodity of Lewis- and solidify the front court and bench.
I like it.

[DobinskiFormula]

Projected Starting Lineup for Orlando next year?

Nelson
Ariza?
Turkoglu
Lewis
Howard

It's not the most intimidating lineup in the East, but the Magic did well not to overpay for Darko or Grant Hill. I think Gerald Wallace's skill set would have fit better in this lineup since Turk is a poor man's Rashard Lewis already, but Wallace is so injury-prone that the Lewis signing makes sense.

[Spearit]

I believe JJ Reddick will step up to the plate this year as guard. Battie filled in for Darko last year so at 6'11 he plays at low post as does Turk. Lewis on the opposite side creates kick outs. Well known that Lewis prefers not to bang with the big boys and his defense is shoddy. The Magic will be improved because Hill and Darko were not big on assists. My opinion was that they were sorta out for themselves and free agency kind of mentality. Not so with those mentioned above. Avg assists doubled those of Darko especially.
Throw Jameer Nelson and a hot hand from the rest of the wannabe guards and this team can play with anybody. Having Coach Hill out and Van Gundy in should be an improvement. Have the guards drive the lanes, Lewis giving a good effort each night, and Howard and low post company producing at both ends and Orlando will be back in the playoffs.

[Spearit]

JJ Redick- Making big noise in summer league play.

ORLANDO -- Not even once while J.J. Redick was hitting those five 3-pointers, 18 free throws and averaging 23.5 points the past two days has he glared over at former Orlando Magic coach Brian Hill.

Redick is shooting with the confidence of his Durham days.

Buried on the bench most of his rookie season with the Magic while Hill was still the coach, Redick has taken the Pepsi Pro Summer League by storm this week by once again resembling the cocky scoring machine who dominated college basketball slightly more than a year ago.

A day after torching New Jersey's summer league team for 30 points, Redick showed more of his all-around skills Tuesday in the Magic's 88-65 whipping of Indiana. He scored another 17 points, but more impressively worked his way to the free-throw line seven times, corralled five rebounds and set up his teammates with six drive-and-kick assists.

It's just the summer league, a forum filled mostly with rookies and vagabond free agents, but to Redick, the event is somewhat of a saving grace. After playing just 42 games and an average of only 14.2 minutes a night, Redick has used this week of games to try to get back the swagger that disappeared at times this past season when he never knew when he might play.

"I struggled a good part of the season. It was really frustrating, really draining to tell you the truth," Redick said. "It was a test in patience. But a lot of rookies have gone through that and really my case isn't that unique. A lot of guys have gone through what I did and turned out to have really good careers. I'm hoping to do the same thing."

Hill played Redick only sparingly even though the Magic clearly needed shooters around Dwight Howard and some punch in their shoddy offense. But in Hill's defense, Redick fell behind early with injuries, missing most of the summer with a herniated disc in his back and most of training camp with torn tissue in his foot.

His season high with the Magic this past season was 16 points, but he had more than that (18) by halftime Monday. Magic GM Otis Smith and new coach Stan Van Gundy are well aware that Redick can score from almost any spot on the floor, but they are watching this week to see whether he can defend well enough to contend for the starting job at shooting guard next season.

Both Hills are gone -- Grant Hill is off to Phoenix to chase a championship, and Brian Hill is expected to join New Jersey's staff as an assistant after being fired by Orlando -- and Redick knows there's a huge opportunity for him to become a key player for the Magic. He's keeping his summer league success in perspective, though, knowing it's what he does in October that really will decide whether he will get some meaningful playing time.

"In the big scheme of things, I'm not sure this week really means a lot," Redick said. "Travis Diener had an incredible summer league last year [including a 34-point game], and it didn't help him much. Coach [Van Gundy] is going to play the guys he feels the most comfortable with. I'm just hoping to be one of those guys."

[Spearit]

With the 2007-08 salary cap set Tuesday night at $56.63 million, Lewis' first-year salary with the Magic will be $16.68 million -- the maximum allowable for a player with nine years of NBA experience. From there, he'll get 10.5 percent annual raises. That will take the deal to a mind-boggling $25.2 million for the 2012-13 season