Orlando Magic re-sign Jameer Nelson for three years – NBA News
The Orlando Magic have had a tough season and an even tougher offseason. After crashing out of the first round of the playoffs without star centre Dwight Howard, the Magic fired head coach Stan Van Gundy and parted ways with General
Manager Otis Smith in a bid to retain Howard, who had 1 year remaining in his contract.
Howard, recovering from a back surgery in Los Angeles, however, made it clear that he desired to be traded with the Brooklyn Nets, his number 1 priority for some time. Hence, the Magic had to go through a gruelling few weeks in
order to find a suitable trade for Howard that would prove beneficial to the restructuring efforts of the Orlando Magic. They are still working on a possible trade involving him, but in the mean time have made the decision to re-sign Jameer Nelson.
Nelson opted out of the final year of his contract worth $8 million. However, the Magic has managed to convince him to re-sign with the team for a three year contract.
While talking to the Orlando Sentinel, Nelson said:
“I was prepared to go where I needed to go to continue my career, and I think I kind of expressed that to the organization. But I also told them that I would love to come back. Genuinely, I love the city. I love the organization.
I’ve learned a lot from the people in the organization. The (Magic owners the) DeVos family means a lot to myself and my family and it means a lot to me that they always put out a winning product.”
The terms of the deal and the worth of the contract are still unknown, and Nelson will sign the contract on July 11th when the moratorium is lifted.
The announcement comes as good news for the Magic fans, who have been waiting for something positive to come out of the Magic franchise. The team has been involved in controversies over the past few months and most of them have
circled around Howard, beginning with the public accusation by Magic coach Van Gundy during the regular season that Howard had asked for him to be fired. That started a rough few months for the team which involved the Magic dropping in rankings in the Eastern
Conference, an early elimination from the playoffs, parting of ways with the coach and General Manager, and the subsequent falling out with Howard.
The Magic seem to have made up their mind about trading Howard and are now looking for the best deal in return for him. The Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers are said to be interested in a trade for Howard.
Nelson, at 30, is the second best player in the team at the moment and had a solid 2011-2012 season where he averaged 11.9 points and 5.7 assists. He is a player who can be beneficial when the Magic being their restructuring after
treading Howard.
Tags: