3. Rashard Lewis (2008-11)
Whenever a player signs a max contract, they immediately face pressure.
That contract marker comes with the expectation that the player will be an All-Star and the central focus for whatever team they will play with. Failing to meet those expectations can be a severe impediment to team growth.
The Magic know firsthand what happens when a max-level player fails to live up to those expectations and how difficult it becomes to build a team — especially with another max player.
Hoops Habit
For the longest time, Rashard Lewis’ narrative was that the Magic overpaid for him. They bid against themselves in a desperate attempt to add someone of prominence to the team after their first playoff berth and set the table for Dwight Howard’s prime.
Lewis was never a flashy player, even with the Seattle SuperSonics. He could put up big scoring games and was big for a small forward, but he was never an All-Star or anything more than a seeming oddity.
Then there was the reported promise the Magic made to him when he arrived in Orlando. He did not want to play power forward. His game was more perimeter-oriented and he wanted to post up smaller players.
The Magic agreed to that promise. It was only when Tony Battie tore his rotator cuff that Stan Van Gundy asked him to slide over to power forward alongside Hedo Turkoglu.
As the story goes, Lewis agreed without blinking. If that is what was best for the team, that is what was best for the team. And that is how much of Lewis’ time with the Magic went after that.
It was that selflessness that defined his time with the Magic as much as his big shots — Game 1 and 4 in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals come to mind most. He was exactly who the Magic needed to help set their culture and lift the team into contention. Orlando may not have had a better signing (Horace Grant is probably in that conversation).
Rashard Lewis was a 3 that came to Orlando and accepted a role as a stretch 4. He sacrificed his game for the team and received only criticism from fans. Game 6 of the 09 playoffs against Philly when Dwight was suspended is what he could've been. Go back and watch if need be.
— Erick (@erod3141) August 22, 2019
It's gotta be Rashard. He switched positions, because of that his offensive numbers dropped. He had to work harder on d. He also gave up the ball for Hedo to do what he did. His selflessness I think is one of the most under reported stories in Magic history.
— Ryan Gagnon (@RyGagnon) August 21, 2019
Rashard Lewis may have passed his prime when he played his first season with the Magic, but he proved to be a stellar power forward next to, for example, Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard, especially during the Magic run between 2009 and 2010.
— Ricardo J. Ortiz (@rjortiz26) August 21, 2019
Regency bias in the results. Rashard is the answer. He was a borderline all star for years with this team and his offensiveness game (inside SVG’s system) was literally transformative at the four, but people perpetually dismissed and discredited him because of his large contract
— Cigamodnalro (@cigamodnalro) August 22, 2019
Lewis averaged a fairly pedestrian 16.3 points per game in Orlando. That is not exactly screaming max player. He shot 39.9 percent from beyond the arc in those four seasons. That helped transform the Magic especially when he moved to the 4.
But it was Lewis’ all-around game — his solid passing, his post-game, his defense — that made him so valuable. He was versatile in almost every sense of the word. And he would do whatever his team needed him to do.
That is all you can ask for. Orlando got what it paid for.