Knicks' Thomas wanted Rashard Lewis, got Randolph

[SmackDaddy 30]

quote:

Originally posted by Marc Acres 3:16:

My bad on the FA for Wallace, I could have sworn he was restricted.

 

Lots factors dimished the risk of not getting him and it is a long shot that Seattle would want anything that any of those teams were offering but as long as there was a 1% chance that is too great a risk for a team that was 1.looking for public support for a new arena 2. needing to resign a guy that if he hits the open market will have EVERY team giving him the keys to the city 3. deparatly needed a guy to score.

 

"the reaction on this board would be everyone saying thank god we didn't blow that much money on a fringe allstar"

-ReeceGaines

 

No way on Earth is that the reaction. In fact I'll go a step further and say that every sports caster, commentator, former player, league executive, ball boy...etc.. would be eating us alive. I can hear Charles Barkley right now saying "Dwight needs to leave cause that team ain't gonna get him no help." Mitch Kupchack and Kobe would have an entire army of people calling Dwight round the clock.

 

A 1% risk is too great a risk to save the team 30 million? Come on Marc.

 

BTW, Dwight would have been a restricted free agent, and the rules have changed quite a bit since Shaq left Orlando (more a result of Shaq leaving Orlando). There wasn't much of a chance Dwight was leaving.

 

I do agree with a portion of your response though, and I touched on it in one of my posts yesterday. I think that a large contributing factor for the excessive spending on Rashard was the Arena deal.

And as I pointed out yesterday, I believe that the revenue generated by the new Arena will more than help offset the impact of Rashard's contract financially for the organization. However, the impact that Rashard's contract could have on the team roster could be detrimental in a few years. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

[SmackDaddy 30]

quote:

Originally posted by ReeceGaines:

Fact is, if you were given the Orlando Magic with a 19 year old Dwight Howard and Hedo signed to an MLE on it, with Francis/Hill set to expire eventually, a homeless idiot could have done a better job than getting nothing out of 3 lottery picks and giving Kobe money to Rashard.

 

Oh boy, that was funny.

[Jareth Cutestory 678]

quote:

Originally posted by SmackDaddy:

Nice talkin basketball with you Jareth. Thanks for the riveting & informative repsonses.

 

Hey Smack,

 

Tell ya what? Give me something interesting to discuss, and i'm all for it.

 

Give me the same ol' crap, and i'll give you my same dumb comments that help me ease the pain of reading yours.

 

No offense or anything, but this topic is about as riveting as the Cavemen show.

[SmackDaddy 30]

quote:

Originally posted by Jareth Cutestory:

Hey Smack,

 

Tell ya what? Give me something interesting to discuss, and i'm all for it.

 

Give me the same ol' crap, and i'll give you my same dumb comments that help me ease the pain of reading yours.

 

No offense or anything, but this topic is about as riveting as the Cavemen show.

 

I'm on the edge of my seat. What's the caveman show? An adaptation of human life that mirrors your profound intelect?

[Drain-O 369]

Can I interject with my opinion on the matter

 

Seattle did not want trash for Rashard even in the form of expiring deals. They were clearly looking to dump payroll and grease the wheels for the move to OKC starting fresh with Durant.

 

Nobody had an attractive trade pitch for Seattle that made sense to them. New York, Miami, Houston, Cleveland. Seattle would have to take on to much salary. They did not want to do that.

 

Rashard was never told he would get 5/75. He was told a max deal which would have been 5/90 without the 6th year. I think the media made an error in reporting that initial number.

 

Rashard is overpaid but so are tons of other guys. Did you know Mike Finley is the 2nd highest paid player in the NBA. The only thing that worries me and it is a legitimate worry is if him and Dwight cannot lead this team to the finals it will be very hard for this team to put the proper pieces around them except for mid-level's, vet minimums and drafting well. (Not the Magic's strongpoint)

 

Rashard's agent did a masterful job in selling Otis on year 6. Even by just creating the scenario in which this team could lose Rashard made this team have to pony up that money.

 

With all of this said I have loved what Rashard has brought to the table so far. He is not forcing the issue trying to prove people wrong but is being very efficient as a primary outside shooter right now which is probably what SVG has told him to do.

 

As the year develops and chemistry continues this team will continue to improve. Like most I give Otis a C so far and look forward to see how he improves this team further with the hopeful addition of a solid big man.

[Marc Acres 3:16 418]

quote:

Originally posted by ReeceGaines:

http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/orlando.htm

 

Dwight - 13 million

Hedo - 6.8

Battie - 5.7

Nelson - 5.5 (first year salary according to hoopshype)

Bogans - 2.9

Ariza - 2.9 (he will not opt out given how little minutes he's getting, or will be traded)

Redick 2.1

Foyle - 1.2

 

TOTAL SALARY 2008 summer - 40.1 million

Estimated 2008 salary cap - 59.8 million

 

That is 19.7 million in cap space even WITH jameer and dwight's extensions (and ariza on board), in the best free agent class ever

 

so why did we have to gamble on Rashard being offered a max from New York?

 

let's take it a step farther: say we had let Jameer Nelson go, we woulda had 25 million to work with

 

given annual max raises, you could offer TWO semi-max free agents 12.5 million deals that escalate into an average of 16 million: or let JJ Redick go if you want two legit max players

 

the possibilities were endless

 

You only have 8 players on the roster and you have 19.7 to fill 6 roster spots. If you let Jameer go you have 7 spots to fill at 25 mill. Considering a difference maker is going to command more than 12.5, I'd say we could pick 1 guy and not a lot else and we'd still need a scorer and a starting PG.

 

Of the people you listed, How many of those are max players? How many are fringe all-stars?

Gilbert Arenas-Max guy

Baron Davis-Max

Allen Iverson-soon to be 80

Emeka Okafor-Max? Nope

Elton Brand-Max

Luol Deng-Max? It's a projection who knows

Josh Smith-Headcase

Andre Iguodala-See Deng

Jermaine O'Neal-When was his last full season?

Shawn Marion-See Iverson

Ben Gordon-1 trick pony

Jose Calderon-Not a max but a darn good PG

Antawn Jamison-No

Ron Artest-too frightened to let him near the team

Andris Biedrins-9pts 10boards this season

Corey Maggette-No

Monta Ellis-No

 

With the exception of Calderon and Ellis who on that list is taking 12.5? Who on that list is likely to switch teams? Besides Arenas and Brand who is a can't miss? If we use Rashards deal as an example then a max guy is going to eat up 16 mill by himself. Not to mention that we still don't know for sure that we could even get the guy we need.

[SmackDaddy 30]

quote:

Originally posted by Jareth Cutestory:

Give me the same ol' crap, and i'll give you my same dumb comments that help me ease the pain.

 

Apparently the same ol' crap is all that interests you since the majority of your posts are adolescent cartoons & worthless opinions that rarely pertain to the topic.

This is a Magic basketball forum, not a Sesam Street forum. Why don't you go ride Big Birds beak for a while and see if you can learn your ABC's.

[ReeceGaines 0]

Let me make a prediction too. When we get booted in the first round because we have no size or depth, and jump shooting teams decline as the season goes on (as the knees get tired)

 

and then... the free agent class of 2008 comes and we see superior to Rashard players like Elton Brand getting MUCH LESS than Shard, this board will throw a hissy fit and demand for Otis' head (and deny they ever supported him)

[Marc Acres 3:16 418]

quote:

Originally posted by SmackDaddy:

A 1% risk is too great a risk to save the team 30 million? Come on Marc.

 

When you put it in those terms yes it does sound stupid. But put it this way-

A 1% risk is too great a risk to take a chance on losing Dwight and the arena.

 

Like I said it may have been an extremely small risk but it was one they could not afford to gamble on. Now if we want to discuss how it got to that point, then yes, a lot of people really messed up. Grant should have been traded, drafts were blown, coaches were hired that killed our ability to evaluate what we had. This is what we had in front of us, get a scorer or very bad things can happen.

[ball junkie 277]

Dang man, Smack's taking on the whole board by himself. You go boy!

 

Smack, I'm glad you are posting on this subject or I'd be accepting as truth some of the things that others would have you believe about the Rashard signing. I dislike the business part of the NBA but I do realize it is an important part.

 

I'm glad Smack is willing to speak his mind even when all around him are trying to say otherwise.

[Live or Die Magic 383]

Reece Gaines, your attempt to convince us is almost as sad as the NBA career of your namesake, who guess what, was chosen under Weisbrod's watch.

 

I don't know how closely you follow the team, but if I had to guess, I would say it is not that closely. Surely you must know that it was Otis Smith, in his capacity as Director of Player/Personnel, that convinced Weisbrod to choose Dwight Howard over Emeka Okafor. Weisbrod was quoted admitting that he needed convincing up till the last minute.

 

It was also Otis Smith on the phone working the trade with Denver that got us Jameer Nelson. It was also Otis Smith, working with Weisbrod, that secured Turk with the MLE. Because Weisbrod did not have the NBA background, he relied heavily on Otis Smith, as well as Dave Twardzik, to make decisions by committee.

 

My point is, if you are going to nail Otis to the wall for the bad drafts (Fran Vazquez and JJ Redick, though I think the jury is still out on Redick) and bad moves (Darko walking) then you have to give him credit for the good drafts and good moves he had a hand in.

[Drain-O 369]

quote:

Originally posted by ReeceGaines:

Let me make a prediction too. When we get booted in the first round because we have no size or depth, and jump shooting teams decline as the season goes on (as the knees get tired)

 

and then... the free agent class of 2008 comes and we see superior to Rashard players like Elton Brand getting MUCH LESS than Shard, this board will throw a hissy fit and demand for Otis' head (and deny they ever supported him)

 

Correct me if I am wrong here but I do not think anyone you mentioned above is eligible to make what Rashard is making because they do not have the tenure he has in the NBA. So Brand and Arenas will be paid less simply because they are not eligible for the percentage of the cap that Lewis is. But if they are and you are Arenas why on earth would you settle for less. I think agents will begin to use his deal as a jumping off point not taking less.