Wow. Just.

Wow.

We officially landed Rashard Lewis today via a sign-and-trade with the Sonics. It's great to have Lewis on the roster, but you have to ask whether or not it was worth spending Juwan Howard money. ESPN's reporting it's at least $110 million. It was originally believed to be in the $75m range. Bill Simmons over at ESPN called it the worst max deal in history.

Some magic fans are quick to point out that we'll have JJ Redick, Lewis and Hedo all able to shoot the deep ball with Dwight down low. With Dwight demanding double teams, that combination seriously opens up the offense. This is true. However, somebody has to be crashing the boards along side Dwight, and somebody, anybody, has to be willing to play defense.

Signing Lewis makes us a potential 2nd round team (gotta love the east), but it doesn't make us a contender. Let's hope Otis can find a Big somewhere to give Dwight a little bit of help. I could have sworn we already had one able to do just that.. but.....

In other news, JJ is tearing up the summer league.

"Pot, kettle goose and gander all throw up their hands in disgust."

Let's all remember that Darko's agent, Marc Cornstein, is the same agent that represents Fran Vazquez. When you burn an organization that badly, it's no doubt that they won't take you seriously anymore. Memo to Darko: Get a new agent. I'd imagine that his ineptitude just screwed you out of a deal to stay in Orlando.

Then again, the rumblings have always been that Darko wanted to be somewhere where he could be a major part of the lineup. For that to happen, he's going to have to prove he can consistently average more than 8 points a game. He's a great asset if only for his defensive skills (shot blocking monster), but that doesn't demand 10 million a year. If he can find himself in Cleveland, it'd probably be a great fit next to Lebron.

It'll be sad if Darko leaves Orlando. I think he and Dwight could be an amazing tandem down low. Orlando has to fill its needs though, and that starts with building an offense. Rashard will be a great fit.

Dwight just got robbed in the dunk contest. I'm sure it'll be on YouTube soon enough, but damn, that was a hell of a dunk. He placed a sticker of himself 12'6" high on the backboard.

Magic Johnson called it one of the best dunks he's ever seen. Then again, he said earlier that he thought Dominique Wilkins was the best at dunking over people in a game. I have to wonder if he remembers when Vince dunked over the 7'2" frenchie in the 2000 games.

Here's the video of VC's dunk for your reminiscing pleasure. ;)

I am so ready for basketball season.

All these losing teams I follow has me feigning for a playoff appearance by the Magic. It's time. Yeah, Philly beat us last night.. but.. Magic look like they could be phenomenal this year, and if not this year, certainly next. Think about how young the team is. Howard, Milicic, Nelson, Reddick are all lottery picks from the last few years. Reddick doesn't even need to do anything special. Get that kid a lawn chair on the offensive side and have him shoot the lights out Dennis Scott style.

NBA League Pass is $180 (access to every game).. If it were $100 or less, it'd be a lot more tempting. Anything over $100, not so much. If it were closer to $50, I can't imagine any big nba fan not doing it. I'm surprised they don't try to blow up the numbers by making it affordable. The only way $180 seems to make sense is if you have roommates, but alas... Then again, Ann Marie's mom just pointed out that its less than $1 a day for constant NBA action.... mmmm....

NBA Links:

• Mark Cuban says he's going to behave: I feel the same way about this as I would if Steve Spurrier said he was going to stop throwing his visor -- disappointed :( Mark's fun to watch.
• Howard conjures memories of Shaq: The Magic had a taste of success, and then abandoned the formula when Shaq bolted. It does seem like we're returning to our old ways -- let's just hope we can avoid being swept out of the playoffs (then again, first let's GET to the playoffs). It's great to have B.Hill back in the drivers seat though.
  
• A Tribute to Red - Quotes from around the league regarding Red Auerbach's passing
• The Rasheed Wallace Rule takes effect - Should make for an interesting first half of the season while everyone adjusts

Beast. 28 points, 26 rebounds -- his 59th double double of the year. Screw the playoffs, let's just go ahead and fast forward to next year.

GO MAGIC.