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The Orlando Magic signed forward Juwan Howard on Wednesday, hoping they have found a second scoring option behind Tracy McGrady.
Howard, a nine-year veteran, has averaged 17.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in 649 career games with Washington, Dallas and Denver. Last season, he led the Nuggets in scoring (18.4 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 rebounds per game).
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the five-year contract has been reported to be worth between $28 million and $38 million.
Denver, Minnesota and Detroit were also interested in signing Howard.
Although the Nuggets offered more money, Howard said the Magic provided the best opportunity for postseason success. He has reached the playoffs twice -- a first-round sweep with Washington in 1997 and advancing to the second round with the Mavericks in 2001.
"I want to win,'' Howard said. "I've never had the opportunity to win, other than a short time in Dallas.''
The 6-foot-9, 260-pound Howard will play both forward positions and center for the Magic, Orlando coach Doc Rivers said.
Howard's inside presence is expected to relieve the burden on McGrady, the NBA's scoring champion last season, who had little help in the Magic's first-round playoff loss to Detroit.
"I needed a bona fide second scorer,'' Rivers said. "If you look at the Detroit series, if Tracy is not playing great, then we struggle because we didn't have a lot of other places to turn.
"And now we have another place to turn in Juwan.''
Howard said he didn't mind plans to shuttle him around the frontcourt.
"Only players who have a set position are those who are limited,'' he said.
The Magic are not yet through with signing free agents.
Orlando needs a starting point guard, with Tyronn Lue and Antonio Daniels considered top contenders. Although the Magic and Lue were close to a deal earlier this week, negotiations were knocked askew when the Cleveland Cavaliers offered Kevin Ollie $15 million over five years.
"Sometimes, a signing like that sets the tone beyond your expectations,'' Orlando general manager John Gabriel said. "I don't want to comment whether it's a good deal or not, but it set a pretty high bar for a guy that appeared to be a journeyman.''
Also, veteran center Andrew DeClercq is expected to re-sign with the Magic. DeClercq averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds for Orlando last season.
Meanwhile, the Magic are considering their options following the NBA's decision to deny the team salary cap relief for injured forward Grant Hill. The medical exemption would've been worth about $4.9 million -- approximately one-third of the $13.3 million due to Hill next season.
Orlando must wait at least 90 days to reapply to the league, Gabriel said.
Without the exemption, Orlando's options in signing more players or acquiring a high-priced player in a trade are limited. The $4.9 million middle-class cap exception, used to sign Howard, cannot be applied to trades.
Hill's bad left ankle has limited him to 47 games the past three seasons since signing a $93-million, seven-year deal with Orlando in August 2000. He sustained a stress fracture to his left ankle during the 2000 playoffs while playing for Detroit.
Howard, a nine-year veteran, has averaged 17.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in 649 career games with Washington, Dallas and Denver. Last season, he led the Nuggets in scoring (18.4 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 rebounds per game).
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the five-year contract has been reported to be worth between $28 million and $38 million.
Denver, Minnesota and Detroit were also interested in signing Howard.
Although the Nuggets offered more money, Howard said the Magic provided the best opportunity for postseason success. He has reached the playoffs twice -- a first-round sweep with Washington in 1997 and advancing to the second round with the Mavericks in 2001.
"I want to win,'' Howard said. "I've never had the opportunity to win, other than a short time in Dallas.''
The 6-foot-9, 260-pound Howard will play both forward positions and center for the Magic, Orlando coach Doc Rivers said.
Howard's inside presence is expected to relieve the burden on McGrady, the NBA's scoring champion last season, who had little help in the Magic's first-round playoff loss to Detroit.
"I needed a bona fide second scorer,'' Rivers said. "If you look at the Detroit series, if Tracy is not playing great, then we struggle because we didn't have a lot of other places to turn.
"And now we have another place to turn in Juwan.''
Howard said he didn't mind plans to shuttle him around the frontcourt.
"Only players who have a set position are those who are limited,'' he said.
The Magic are not yet through with signing free agents.
Orlando needs a starting point guard, with Tyronn Lue and Antonio Daniels considered top contenders. Although the Magic and Lue were close to a deal earlier this week, negotiations were knocked askew when the Cleveland Cavaliers offered Kevin Ollie $15 million over five years.
"Sometimes, a signing like that sets the tone beyond your expectations,'' Orlando general manager John Gabriel said. "I don't want to comment whether it's a good deal or not, but it set a pretty high bar for a guy that appeared to be a journeyman.''
Also, veteran center Andrew DeClercq is expected to re-sign with the Magic. DeClercq averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds for Orlando last season.
Meanwhile, the Magic are considering their options following the NBA's decision to deny the team salary cap relief for injured forward Grant Hill. The medical exemption would've been worth about $4.9 million -- approximately one-third of the $13.3 million due to Hill next season.
Orlando must wait at least 90 days to reapply to the league, Gabriel said.
Without the exemption, Orlando's options in signing more players or acquiring a high-priced player in a trade are limited. The $4.9 million middle-class cap exception, used to sign Howard, cannot be applied to trades.
Hill's bad left ankle has limited him to 47 games the past three seasons since signing a $93-million, seven-year deal with Orlando in August 2000. He sustained a stress fracture to his left ankle during the 2000 playoffs while playing for Detroit.