126 MILLION! What the hell is going on?

The Magic will announce today at 1 pm that they have completed the most baffling sign and trade deal in NBA history. The Magic will send a second round draft pick to the Sonics so that they can ink Rashard Lewis to a 6 year deal worth (holy fuck) 126 million dollars!

This sign and trade is crazy. It benefits no one but Rashard. We get nothing from it except the joy of paying this guy 50 more million dollars than we were going to, plus we lose a draft pick. No unloading of contracts. No compensation. Nothing.

The Magic completely rolled over in this deal, (what happened to the 5 year 85 million dollar contract we were supposed to overpay Rashard with?), giving in to the demands of a player that is worth half that much and crippling the franchise for years to come.

After Shard's contract, which takes up over 30% of our cap every year, plus D12 max deal which will take up a little under 25%, we will have a solid 45% left to sign the best AAU basketball players we can find.

Holy moley, Otis Smith, you suck!

Sorry 'Shard, you ain't worth 113 mil

There's a rumor going around from numerous sources that Magic 3 to be Lewis could ink a deal on Wed worth in the ballpark of 113 million when all is said and done (through sign and trade stuff). Now I, like any blue-blooded Magic fan, am very excited to get Shard in blue and white and think he would make an excellent addition to our young team. But, there's just one thing.

He ain't worth 113 million.

Shard is a good player. Not a great player. He is not a dominating, game-changing MVP like talent in the Nash, Duncan, Kobe landscape. He's a great compliment to other players on your team, but he's not gonna get you to the finals (Eastern Conference). He's just not.

Shard had his best season this past contract year, averaging a touch above 22 ppg, the most he's ever averaged. Now you tell me, does a player who has averaged over 20 only two seasons of his career, is a spotty defender and an underachieving rebounder worth a MAX deal and a cap-hobbling contract of well over 100 million.

See, here's the problem. The Magic even with Shard are still an all-star player away from the Finals. Adding his max deal to the one Howard is about to ink will put the Magic in some pretty tight monetary handcuffs come the next couple off-seasons. Meaning unless the cap sky-rockets above the project 56 million next year we are gonna be stuck with 2/3's of the puzzle completed and no way to get those last remaining pieces. Unlike teams with trade-able assets, the Magic have none. To no ones surprise Arroyo, Garrity, Bogans, Augustine and Battie aren't exactly setting the market on fire.

Here's my point, (which is really not a point at all), Otis Smith is doing the right thing by getting Shard, no one would question that. It is just unfortunate for us that this free agent period is lead by a guy who probably should be the third or forth best free agent in the league in a normal year. Can you imagine if the prize this year was Gilbert Arenas. No one would even think to question inking him to a max deal, or better yet KG or dare I say Duncan. It becomes a no-brainer. But, when the free agent crop is weak, which it is this year, and you get the best player available, which we did, it almost becomes a bittersweet victory. One in which we might be re-evaluating for years to come.

So, here it goes again. Wednesday marks the beginning of the Rashard Lewis era in O-town and with that might come a long period of trying to make ends meet. I just hope we didn't want to be good so bad, so quickly that we cashed in too early and hobbled our poor little city for years to come.

We definitely got the best player in free agency this year, but for what price?

I'm thinking the sticker on that #7 window was a bit too high.

Three for 1: Sign and Trade for Rashard would be sweet

Lately a rumor of a sign and trade with the Sonics involving the expiring contracts of Arroyo, Dooling and Garrity (all in the last year of their contracts) for Rashard. To me this is a fantastic move, but not for the reasons everyone else believes. Getting rid of these contracts would allows to dip farther below the cap and possibly resign Darko (not likely after his agents lambasting of the Magic). To me, Darko is already gone and should not be the motivation for this trade. Here are what I believe the most important aspects of this trade are.

1. Mo Williams: With a new found space under the cap we could push for Mr. Williams to become our PG of the future. Anyone who watched the Magic last year can tell you Nelson is not the answer. There is a reason that the Magic haven't resigned him yet. No one needs a 5'9" shooting guard.

2. Our front line: Mainly PJ Brown. Getting under the cap gives us the flexibility to actually pick up some quality role players like a Brown, or a Mikki Moore.

3. Cleansing: Arroyo is a terrible cancer to our team. Bad passer. Worse decision maker. It would be sad to see Dooling go, but to get rid of Mr. Garrity would be fantastic.

Milicic I Ain't Mad At Cha: Magic Look To Clear Cap Space For Darko

BY JOHN DENTON
FLORIDA TODAY

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ORLANDO - Hoping to clear enough salary-cap space so they can retain center-power forward Darko Milicic, the Orlando Magic continued sign-and-trade negotiations Friday with the Seattle SuperSonics.

The Magic have already convinced small forward Rashard Lewis, 27, to sign with a five-year, $75 million deal with them on Wednesday. Now, Orlando is looking to maneuver so that it can hang on to the 7-foot Milicic to fortify the frontline.

Keeping Milicic is of importance because the Magic have only Dwight Howard, Tony Battie, Pat Garrity and James Augustine along the frontline.

The Magic are trying to peddle the expiring contracts of Carlos Arroyo ($4 million), Garrity ($3.8 million) and Keyon Dooling ($3.5 million) to the Sonics. They are willing to sweeten the deal by including one or more future first- and second-round draft picks.

Working a sign-and-trade deal with the Sonics would be beneficial on many fronts. To wit:

It would allow Lewis to sign a six-year deal rather than a five-year deal. His annual raises would be 10.5 percent as opposed to 8 percent. A sixth year could push the contract's worth to approximately $90 million.

It would allow Seattle to get some compensation for Lewis, a cornerstone of the franchise the past nine seasons. Seattle has already traded Ray Allen to Boston and it is clearly in rebuilding mode. Acquiring the expiring contracts would allow the Sonics to dip well below the salary cap next summer and sign a star to pair with No. 2 pick Kevin Durant.

It would allow the Magic to clear enough cap room to bring back the shot-swatting Milicic, 22. He initially sought a contract worth $10 million a season over five years, but because the market is so barren, he might have to settle for $6.5-7 million a year in Orlando.

Milicic's agent, Marc Cornstein, was furious with Magic general manager Otis Smith for not courting his client last Sunday when teams were allowed to start negotiating with free agents. Cornstein said Smith led him to believe Milicic was the Magic's top target, but he was pushed aside in the pursuit of Lewis.

Cornstein questioned Smith's integrity and threatened that Milicic would never return to Orlando. But Smith has tried to repair the relationship.

"You hear stuff like that all the time in this business, but you don't hear about it a lot publicly," Smith said. "I've said from the start that I'd like to keep Darko here and I've never wavered from that feeling."

Natasha Cornstein, a spokesman for Pinnacle Sports, said Friday that the interest in Milicic is strong around the NBA and they are fielding several offers.

Milicic was a restricted free agent a week ago, meaning the Magic had the right to match any offer he received if they so desired. But Orlando withdrew its qualifying offer to Milicic because it wouldn't have had salary-cap room to sign Lewis had Milicic accepted the $6.8 million qualifer.

That made Milicic an unrestricted free agent capable of signing with any team. However, only four teams -- Milwaukee, Memphis, Atlanta and Orlando -- are under the salary cap and capable of giving Milicic more than the mid-level exception ($5.5 million).

If the Magic are unable to execute the sign-and-trade deal with the Sonics and Milicic's camp continues to insist that he won't return to Orlando, the Magic could execute a sign-and-trade deal with any other team.

Chicago, Golden State and Seattle might have interest in Milicic because of his ability to play two positions, block shots and shoot from the perimeter. Milicic averaged 8.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in the regular season and 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in the playoffs.

The Magic might be in the hunt for a shooting guard after losing veteran Grant Hill to the Phoenix Suns. He agreed to a two-year deal worth $3.8 million Thursday and will leave the Magic after seven-injury filled seasons.

The Magic will get a look at J.J. Redick, the top candidate to replace Hill, next week when the Pepsi Pro Summer League begins in Orlando. Trevor Ariza, Keyon Dooling and Keith Bogans also can play shooting guard if the Magic don't acquire another one this offseason.

J.J. You're On

Brian Schmitz | Sentinel Staff Writer

July 6, 2007

The Orlando Magic's team photo this season will be without shooting guard Grant Hill and most likely without power forward Darko Milicic in the frame.

So what does the big picture look like for the Magic?

They currently are thin at guard and need two more big guys, but General Manager Otis Smith said he likes how his team is shaping up. He still is looking to add pieces through free agency or trades while trying to re-sign Milicic -- a long shot. The Magic accomplished their loftiest offseason goal, reaching an agreement in principle with coveted free-agent small forward Rashard Lewis last week. Smith said Hill's decision to sign next week with the Phoenix Suns "left us short-handed" at shooting guard, but the club has veteran reserves Keyon Dooling and Keith Bogans along with J.J. Redick, a rookie last season.

Hedo Turkoglu, who played small forward last season, could move to the starting role at off-guard.

That could give the Magic a big lineup of Turkoglu at 6-10, Lewis at 6-10, power forward Tony Battie at 6-11 and center Dwight Howard at 6-11. They'd all have to look around to find point guard Jameer Nelson, all of 5-10.

Trevor Ariza, a promising third-year 6-foot-8 small forward, also factors into the mix, likely becoming Lewis' backup.

Smith expects Nelson to have a better season, Ariza to blossom and Redick to fully unveil his threat as a shooter.

The Magic were looking for a scorer and found one in Lewis. They gained Lewis' 22.4 points per game average but could lose an exact equal output in Hill's 14.4 ppg and Milicic's 8.0 ppg.

Orlando likely will have only the veteran exceptions ($1.2 million) to offer free agents, perhaps banking on players to take less for the chance to play with Lewis and Howard. The Magic might simply have to wait to see which players are left looking for work.

Devean George and Chucky Atkins (former Magic player) are two free-agent guards who still could be available.

Smith still hopes to bring back Milicic by working a sign-and-trade deal with Lewis' former team, the Seattle SuperSonics, or making other trades to address needs. Dooling, forward Pat Garrity and point guard Carlos Arroyo -- Nelson's backup -- all have expiring trade-friendly contracts.

Milicic is now an unrestricted free agent after the Magic withdrew a $6.8 million one-year qualifying offer.

If he doesn't return -- and it's likely he signs elsewhere -- Orlando will be hurting for big men. Milicic also gave the Magic a shot-blocking presence.

Some free-agent bigs on the market: Veterans Joe Smith, Jamaal Magloire and Melvin Ely. The Magic also have Polish center Marcin Gortat -- acquired in the 2005 draft -- playing on their summer-league team.

"We like our team; we like the way it's shaping up," Smith said. "We're not sitting here crying. We would have liked to have had Grant back, but now maybe our younger guys will have to step up and other guys will have to show some leadership."

Get Artest. Start The Beatings.

Sure, he might punch fans, family members and weak orphans, but Ron Artest is a damn fine NBA player, a defensive stopper and just the edge the Orlando Magic might need. Lately a rumor has been going around discussing a straight up deal between the Sac Kings and the Magic consisting of Turk for Artest straight up. Their salaries both around 6-7 million for next season, would make it an easy swap and since Lewis plays essentially the same position as Turk he has definitely become expendable and a bit redundant on the roster. This is a risk for the Magic, but one they definitely should take. It gets rid of Turk's salary for the next couple of seasons and since Artest has a player option next year he can opt out of (which he most likely will) the Magic are really only committing one experimental year to him.

Here's why I like Artest on our team.

1) Edge and Fire: We lacked both last year and lets face it Howard's 234 tooth smile isn't really scaring anyone. We need an intimidator in the worst way and you don't get much more intimidating than a boxer who plays in the NBA and beats up fans.

2) Defense: With Darko gone, and Rashard in we lost some intensity on the D. Artest gives us a guy who can lock up the other teams best player and let Lewis do his thing on the offensive end. This guy was Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. Awesome.

3) Third Scorer: And he can score. As a third scoring option he gives us three guys in our starting line-up with Lewis and Howard that can drop 20 a game.


He is a risk. But one with a great upside.

Grant Hill Is Not Your Friend

More than Shaq, or Penny, or Tracy, or Greg Kite, Grant Hill should now be every true Magic fan's most hated player to ever pull on a pair of star-covered shorts. A couple days ago Grant Hill agreed to a veteran's minimum contract with the Phoenix Suns (1.8 million for two years with a player option next year), deciding he'd rather be an old man, hanging on the coattails of a great team than show he is a person, not just a player of class and integrity. Make no mistake Grant Hill is now the enemy. He is the villain and every Magic fan should feel not just hurt, but angry towards this supposed gentleman who has hampered our team with the inability to improve because of the cap restrictions his massive 93 million dollar contract. A contract which for the past 7 years the Magic have paid faithfully and without contempt even though he appeared in the equivalent of 2 1/2 seasons. As Magic fans we lost 7 good years because of Grant. We lost a superstar (albeit a flawed one) in McGrady, because we were unable to find a sidekick for him. We lost season after season, repeatedly missing the playoffs as Mr. Hill kept collecting his check without even suggesting a buyout for his contract until he was better.

This man was a cancer to our team and to the city. And now as the dust settles we see who he truly was, a self-obsessed, selfish, typical NBA player. He never cared about Orlando. Or the people. Or loyalty. As he boards that plane for Phoenix we finally see once and for all that Grant Hill had always been playing for one thing and one thing only. Himself.

Good luck Grant. I hope you win that championship ring. Of course it won't be yours. It will be Nash's and Marion's and Amare's and Bell's. But, then again you don't care about that. It's all about winning right?

Suck it Hill

Associated Press

Updated: July 6, 2007, 1:04 AM ET

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Grant Hill made seven NBA All-Star teams and won two college championships. He also has never been past the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Hungry for a title, Hill is leaving the Orlando Magic after seven injury-plagued years to join a perennial contender in the Phoenix Suns, his agent said Thursday.

The 34-year-old forward agreed to a two-year deal worth about $1.8 million for the first year, with a second-year player option for about $2 million, agent Lon Babby said.

"There's no question he could've gotten considerably more money elsewhere, but that was not the principle," Babby said. "I think the most important factor for him was the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to a team competing for the championship."

Hill was considering retirement or returning to Orlando for another season. His seven-year, $93 million contract finished this season, and the Magic have used it as a flashpoint for rebuilding.

That salary-cap room was earmarked for a free-agent scorer, and Orlando agreed to spend it on Seattle SuperSonics forward Rashard Lewis, his agent said this week. Teams cannot discuss or complete deals until the signing period begins Wednesday. Citing those restrictions, the Magic and Suns declined comment Thursday.

Hill has played about only a third of Orlando's 574 regular-season games, and made the All-Star team just once since leaving the Detroit Pistons.

This year was the first Hill finished healthy since arriving in Orlando in 2000 with an ankle injury that eventually required five operations. The Magic signed Tracy McGrady at the same time, but he left in a 2004 trade that brought in Steve Francis.

Babby said about 15 teams courted Hill, and the forward narrowed that list to five. He declined to name which other teams Hill was considering.

The Suns won 61 games this season, losing in the Western Conference semifinals to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs. Hill will join a roster that includes two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and All-Star Amare Stoudemire.

"I think all he was seeking was the opportunity to start," Babby said. "It was the same promise that was made to him when he went to Duke. Nobody guarantees you anything and he wasn't asking for guarantees."

The Magic knew Hill had an ankle injury when they traded Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins for him in 2000, but never expected it would take so long to heal. Hill appeared in just four games his first year with the Magic, 14 the next year and 29 the year after that. He missed the entire 2003-04 season.

Hill finally regained his old form in 2004-05, averaging almost 20 points and looking like the all-purpose player Orlando thought it was getting. Even then he couldn't stay off the injury list, missing 15 games with wrist and shin problems.

In 2005-06, it was a sports hernia and lower abdominal injuries for another 61 missed games.

The 6-foot-8 forward was written off by some as a pricey bench fixture, but others found Hill hard to dislike. He led the league in All-Star balloting in 1995 and '96.

Hill proved again this season he could still play. The former Duke star averaged 15 points as Orlando was swept in the first-round by his former team, and just under that during the regular season. He was the Magic's best option driving to the basket, and at times seemed the only one playing with energy despite his age.

But Hill again missed 17 regular-season games this season with a knee sprain and other minor injuries.

For his career, Hill averages 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He played on the 1996 Olympic team that won the gold medal and on a Duke team that reached three NCAA championship games and won two consecutive titles.