04/24/24
July 03, 2007
Rashard Lewis Leaves Sonics In a Hurry: The Seattle SuperSonics forward, a free agent pursued by 20 teams, has reportedly agreed to an NBA-maximum five-year, $80 million deal with the Orlando Magic. "He wants to win and you almost think they (Seattle) are starting to rebuild with all these young players," former teammate Ray Allen told the Tacoma News Tribune before the deal. "I'm not sure Rashard is going to want to be a big brother to all these young guys." There's no word yet on when Lewis will have an abrupt change of heart and cancel the deal with Orlando.
posted by rcade to basketball at 11:19 AM - 13 comments
Is it just me, or does anybody else have to do a double-take when the article mentions that "former Magic center Patrick Ewing" has joined the Orlando coaching staff? I'd completely forgotten that he played 65 games for the Maji out of the 1,183 he played during his career. Of course, he's also got 79 games with the Sonics, but I've yet to hear anybody refer to him as "former Sonics center Patrick Ewing."
posted by The_Black_Hand at 01:25 PM on July 03, 2007
Maybe, in a story that is about both the Magic and Sonics, they should have said "former Center for the Magic and the Sonics, Patrick Ewing, who also had once played for the Knicks has joined the Orlando coaching staff."
posted by Familyman at 02:01 PM on July 03, 2007
Anytime I hear about a free agent eager to sign with Orlando, I think they are only going because Florida has no state income tax. I blame Tracy McGrady.
posted by bperk at 02:02 PM on July 03, 2007
Orlando's a team that isn't far from being great, especially by the reduced standards of the Eastern Conference. If Lewis wants a shot at a title in the next 2-4 years, I think his chances are much better with the Magic than they would've been in Seattle.
posted by rcade at 02:07 PM on July 03, 2007
Orlando is a much improved team - but does anyone seriously think that Rashard Lewis is a legit 1st option scorer? He isn't carrying a team anywhere. Personally, I think he's about 2 years away from being Alan Houston: a $17 million jumpshooter. He's that much of an upgrade over Grant Hill? (Don't get me wrong - he's an upgrade in terms of scoring and health - but he isn't going to be making those around him better like Hill did.) I think the East is wide open - but the rise of a few teams is coming. Look at some of those West rosters. Crucial players are getting old - teams breaking down.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:38 PM on July 03, 2007
The eastern conference has been down some in the past years, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the magic start getting some attention now sooner then later. I wouldn't put Lewis in with the Magic on superstar terms, but more of a very good role player. Howard is the up and coming star, and if Lewis can live with that he should do fine.
posted by robi8259 at 05:24 PM on July 03, 2007
Anytime I hear about a free agent eager to sign with Orlando, I think they are only going because Florida has no state income tax. Washington has no state income tax. Also Texas.
posted by bobfoot at 06:27 PM on July 03, 2007
I think the Magic are a lot closer than the Sonics. I think the Sonics will be good in 5 years. But Lewis is going to one of about 5 teams that have the BIG MAN to get a team to the finals. Duncan, Shaq, Amare, and Oden maybe later. Great move for Lewis and Orlando. Seattle jumped too soon in my opinion with Ray Allen. He was a proven shooter and All-Star. He did have an off year, but trading for ZERbiak and Jeff Green seems strange to me. They must REALLY be trying to rebuild. GOOD LUCK, I would love to see that team in Oklahoma City. or Kansas City. Vegas is too much of a distraction, and those people couldn't handle attention taken away from the Casinos.
posted by Snikastyle at 07:42 PM on July 03, 2007
I think the Sonics should go to whatever city wants to build a new arena every 9 years. Allen's ankle may have been a question mark but Seattle sports franchises are famous for getting rid of star players especially when they think there might be a health/contract issue. Maybe it's something in the coffee. The Mariners dumped Randy Johnson because they thought his back might be a problem and all he did was win a World Series and pitch a no-hitter. But that's baseball. Shutting up now.
posted by THX-1138 at 08:25 PM on July 03, 2007
Is it just me or what? People keep keep talking about Vegas as a relocation spot for an NBA team. David Stern has openly said he would not go for any team going there, as long as there is gambling there. Don't think that will change! SO COULD WE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT IT! Anyway there are so many other places that would be better moves for teams.
posted by robi8259 at 06:45 AM on July 04, 2007
KC just built a state of the art facility, and are willing to give which team wants to move there free rent. The major problem for getting the Sonics there is that KC doesn't have a good track record of supporting NBA teams. I would love to only have to drive a couple of hours to watch durant play though. Too bad it probably won't happen.
posted by brainofdtrain at 11:58 PM on July 04, 2007
SO COULD WE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT IT! No. Ahem..... VegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegasVegas
posted by THX-1138 at 01:08 PM on July 05, 2007
As a native of the NW, I am amazed at the tremendous attention this story is getting at home and on the site. Stay in Seattle. Or leave. Whatever. Maybe you should wait and see if they play in Vegas. Maybe you are upset that Durant will get all the attention. Maybe you miss Ray.