Serious question about Rashard Lewis' contract??

[yearsago]

Yikes..

[zuppafly]

eh the Magic would be over the cap regardless of the deal. There wouldnt be any flexibility if they signed him to a 90mil contract. The only benefit would be that Rashard be easier to trade, but if youre investing 6 years in a player, you obviously want him to be around, so I doubt Otis Smith was thinking about trading him. Add to that he's part of the team that won 12 more games this year then last, and that he's played the entire year out of position at the 4 missing only 1 game all year, and that his team is up 2-0 in the playoffs so far, one really couldnt ask for much more. People may say its due to hedo, but people really never consider how having Lewis on the wing allows hedo to penetrate since teams cant sag off of him. I think they mutually benefit each other.

But then again, what do I know, Ive only seen every Magic game this year.

That's pretty much it. Of course the numbers on his contract are huge but there would be no difference in flexibility if it was a 50, 60 or 70 millions either. Magic would be over the cap for quite a few years anyway. But yeah, he's getting absurd numbers.

And yes, people don't credit him enough on this year's rise of the Magic because even before they try to see what he does to this team they come up with the numbers of his contract. He's the best thing Howard and Hedo could have had this last summer.

[tranjSAIC]

Magic fan here, Shard has fit in perfectly for us. BUT we know he is THE MOST over paid player in basketball. Our GM was a dumbass, basically he let Shards agent scare him into that huge contract. I highly doubt anyone would have given him a max contract let alone a max contract with an extra year.

[theTHIEF]

man, this topic....again

[cwas2882]

I'm going to start a "Why is the West so much better than the East" Thread. Haven't seen one of those in a couple of days

[MagicMadness]

eh the Magic would be over the cap regardless of the deal. There wouldnt be any flexibility if they signed him to a 90mil contract. The only benefit would be that Rashard be easier to trade, but if youre investing 6 years in a player, you obviously want him to be around, so I doubt Otis Smith was thinking about trading him. Add to that he's part of the team that won 12 more games this year then last, and that he's played the entire year out of position at the 4 missing only 1 game all year, and that his team is up 2-0 in the playoffs so far, one really couldnt ask for much more. People may say its due to hedo, but people really never consider how having Lewis on the wing allows hedo to penetrate since teams cant sag off of him. I think they mutually benefit each other.

But then again, what do I know, Ive only seen every Magic game this year.

Yep, that basically sums it up, and the bold part attempts to answer why our GM offered such a big contract - good post.

Bottom line - Rashard is overpaid. However, in a way it's worth it considering the 52 wins this year and the current 2-0 playoff series lead. He plays out of postition, yet doesn't publically complain. Also, like MagicalMan said, he's a big part of why Hedo Turkoglu is now one of the best players on our team - and yet, Rashard doesn't try to chuck shots and inflate his stats in an attempt to outscore Hedo and Dwight. He scores within the flow of the game - yet still averages 18-19ppg. Not bad, but yeah, obviously not "worth" the amount being paid in the grand scheme of things since he isn't Kobe or LeBron.

[Scoot McGroot]

But Rashard would still have contributed the exact same to your franchise if you paid him only $90 million or even a bit less instead of the $120 million you are paying him. The only difference is that at the lower salary, you'd have a little more long-term flexibility at the luxury tax level (as you likely would've been over the salary cap for 'Shard's entire contract anyways). However, you might have to make luxury tax moves you normally wouldn't want to make in the next few years.

[DanTown8587]

It was stupid, Seattle (especially after drafting Durant and Green) was not gonna sign him, no team wanted Lewis so Orlando went out and did this. I would have just signed him outright, thus saving me a year down the road and would make his contract infinitely easier to trade.

[theTHIEF]

It was stupid, Seattle (especially after drafting Durant and Green) was not gonna sign him, no team wanted Lewis so Orlando went out and did this. I would have just signed him outright, thus saving me a year down the road and would make his contract infinitely easier to trade.

you have no idea what you are talking about here...Rashard Lewis is not some washed up has been with no skill, teams wanted him and his abilities...Orlando made it impossible for others to vie for his services by offering him an insane amount of money...

end of story...

[MagicMadness]

It was stupid, Seattle (especially after drafting Durant and Green) was not gonna sign him, no team wanted Lewis so Orlando went out and did this. I would have just signed him outright, thus saving me a year down the road and would make his contract infinitely easier to trade.

That's not true. There were a couple of teams pursuing Lewis, including the Rockets. But yes, again, the Magic did seemingly overcompensate and pay Lewis much more than the other teams were willing to offer. Magic fans can only wonder why he was paid so much; honestly, we still don't have a definite answer.

[JN]

But Rashard would still have contributed the exact same to your franchise if you paid him only $90 million or even a bit less instead of the $120 million you are paying him. The only difference is that at the lower salary, you'd have a little more long-term flexibility at the luxury tax level (as you likely would've been over the salary cap for 'Shard's entire contract anyways). However, you might have to make luxury tax moves you normally wouldn't want to make in the next few years.

I can't possibly see how a franchise that struggles to sell out for the playoffs (with low ticket prices) would be that concerned about the luxury tax.

[Cammo101]

I am still amazed at this. They were trying to get an Okur/Boozer type of chemistry, but I think the experiment failed badly. Gladly Hedo has been a good story.

Dwight>Boozer
Shard>Okur

I'm a bit confused how this failed. The most dominate big man in the league paired with the leagues leader in three pointers. The Magic are lightyears better with Shard than they were without.

[Cammo101]

It was stupid, Seattle (especially after drafting Durant and Green) was not gonna sign him, no team wanted Lewis so Orlando went out and did this. I would have just signed him outright, thus saving me a year down the road and would make his contract infinitely easier to trade.

This is all kinds of wrong.