After praising GM Otis Smith for his diligence and the great job he's doing in shaping the Magic into a solid team, I run across this story.
July 4, 2007
ORLANDO, FLORIDA (TICKER) -- Darko Milicic's career with the Orlando Magic appears to be over.
The Magic have withdrawn their qualifying offer to Milicic, making the Serbian center an unrestricted free agent.
The agent for the 7-footer went on to blast Orlando general manager Otis Smith saying his client never will play for the team again.
Agent Marc Cornstein reacted to the Magic's decision by branding Smith a "liar" in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. He said Smith had been "deceitful, disrespectful and a disgrace" in handling Milicic.
Smith had said re-signing Milicic was a "priority" but on Tuesday notified Cornstein the team was withdrawing its offer.
Milicic averaged 8.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game last season for the Magic, but that was not enough to convince Smith that he is worth the $10 million per season he reportedly is seeking.
The Magic retain the qualifying veteran exception, or Bird Rights, to Milicic, allowing them to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him.
Smith has claimed the team still wants to bring Milicic back. Cornstein insisted it would not happen.
"There's no chance. Put it in big capital letters," Cornstein said. "You can say that as long as Otis Smith is the general manager of the Orlando Magic, there's no chance."
Milicic, 22, was selected second overall by Detroit in the 2003 draft, putting him ahead of the likes of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh in a loaded class.
After struggling to command playing time in 2 1/2 seasons with the Pistons, Milicic was eventually traded to Orlando along with Carlos Arroyo in February 2006, with Detroit receiving Kelvin Cato and a first-round pick.
The Magic's decision not to withdraw their offer to Milicic comes after they reportedly on Tuesday agreed to a "maximum contract" with free agent forward Rashard Lewis, who was with Seattle last season.
"If Otis Smith had been a decent human and told us that Rashard Lewis was the player they wanted and would have to sacrifice Darko to get him, my reaction wouldn't have been happiness," Cornstein added. "But I would have said, 'I appreciate you telling me.'
"Instead, the guy told us Darko was a priority, and he lied."
Updated on Wednesday
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