# Magic re-sign Tony Battie



## onetwo88 (Jul 16, 2002)

The Orlando Magic have re-signed forward-center Tony Battie, Assistant General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed. InsideHoops.com should have some info on the contract by tomorrow.

“Tony (Battie) is a true professional who provides veteran leadership to our young ballclub,” said Smith. “His tremendous character is important both on the court and in the locker room. In addition, the structure of this deal allows us to maintain significant salary cap flexibility going forward.”

from http://www.insidehoops.com


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## reganomics813 (Sep 2, 2005)

I'm glad Tony has finally found a place that really wants him around. With what sounds like a reasonable contract this was another great move by Orlando to give Dwight and Darko a seasoned and solid vet who can compliment them both and help them both flourish. The Magic have made some great moves this season, kudos to them.


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## deanwoof (Mar 10, 2003)

i dont think it's possible to resign players before the season ends....

maybe it's just a sign he's going to sign under the dotted line


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

deanwoof said:


> i dont think it's possible to resign players before the season ends....
> 
> maybe it's just a sign he's going to sign under the dotted line



Yeah ... unless they had an option to extend him or something.

If they did, a good move assuming he re-signed at a decent number. He's about as solid, even if unspectacular, as they come.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

deanwoof said:


> i dont think it's possible to resign players before the season ends....
> 
> maybe it's just a sign he's going to sign under the dotted line


I'm assuming they worked out an extension, they've been trying to do that for some time...

I'm glad to hear we resigned Battie but I won't know how happy I am with this deal until the terms are disclosed.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Captain Obvious said:


> I'm assuming they worked out an extension, they've been trying to do that for some time...
> 
> I'm glad to hear we resigned Battie but I won't know how happy I am with this deal until the terms are disclosed.



I heard 8 yrs at 92 million ...


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## Duck (Jan 30, 2006)

JNice said:


> I heard 8 yrs at 92 million ...



dude..

I thought you were serious 

All I've heard is that its for 4 years. I hope its for about 20-25 million with most of his money coming next year and in 08 and 09 -- It will allow them to still pursue a big name free agent in the 07 mix.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

..

4 yrs says Sunshine


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## MemphisX (Sep 11, 2002)

This franchise just doesn't get it. Why the hell are you resigning Battie? Why? Why? Why? You already hired a dufus *** coach and now you gave him a chance to make a decision. He has already showed that he will prefer playing Battie over Darko even though the team has no chance at making the playoffs.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

MemphisX said:


> This franchise just doesn't get it. Why the hell are you resigning Battie? Why? Why? Why? You already hired a dufus *** coach and now you gave him a chance to make a decision. He has already showed that he will prefer playing Battie over Darko even though the team has no chance at making the playoffs.


Settle down. Darko has been playing consistent minutes but he's building up stamina. Battie was NOT resigned to start over Darko long-term. Last time I checked teams need more than two big men, so Battie gives us some good depth as well as a veteran presence on a very young team.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

MemphisX said:


> This franchise just doesn't get it. Why the hell are you resigning Battie? Why? Why? Why? You already hired a dufus *** coach and now you gave him a chance to make a decision. He has already showed that he will prefer playing Battie over Darko even though the team has no chance at making the playoffs.



Nothing wrong with resigning Battie. Battie knows his role and he is fine with it. I think Battie knows as soon as next year he's probably coming off the bench. In the NBA where guys like Adonal Foyle and Jerome James are getting ludicrous contracts signing Battie to a reasonable one (I assume) is a good move.


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## JT3000 (Nov 3, 2004)

MemphisX said:


> This franchise just doesn't get it. Why the hell are you resigning Battie? Why? Why? Why? You already hired a dufus *** coach and now you gave him a chance to make a decision. He has already showed that he will prefer playing Battie over Darko even though the team has no chance at making the playoffs.


So do you expect Darko, who's nothing but an average player at this point, to play the entire game or something? Ever heard of depth?


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## lw32 (May 24, 2003)

MemphisX said:


> This franchise just doesn't get it. Why the hell are you resigning Battie? Why? Why? Why? You already hired a dufus *** coach and now you gave him a chance to make a decision. He has already showed that he will prefer playing Battie over Darko even though the team has no chance at making the playoffs.


Exactly. It's not so much the signing which worries me, it's what Brian Hill will do with Battie, i.e. - play him too much and not develop the young guys together. At the moment I have zero trust in Hill's developmental skills or his ability to coach, so I'm worried he'll make the wrong choices and play Battie far too much. I'd rather have bad depth and let the young guys develop now and next year than good depth and see Darko sit on the bench and get below 20mpg.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Lachlanwood32 said:


> Exactly. It's not so much the signing which worries me, it's what Brian Hill will do with Battie, i.e. - play him too much and not develop the young guys together. At the moment I have zero trust in Hill's developmental skills or his ability to coach, so I'm worried he'll make the wrong choices and play Battie far too much. I'd rather have bad depth and let the young guys develop now and next year than good depth and see Darko sit on the bench and get below 20mpg.



Regardless of Hill's coaching ability I wouldn't expect to see Darko getting any less than an average of 20 mpg for the rest of this season and next season. Hopefully next year it will be much closer to the 30 mpg area.


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## MemphisX (Sep 11, 2002)

Lachlanwood32 said:


> Exactly. It's not so much the signing which worries me, it's what Brian Hill will do with Battie, i.e. - play him too much and not develop the young guys together. At the moment I have zero trust in Hill's developmental skills or his ability to coach, so I'm worried he'll make the wrong choices and play Battie far too much. I'd rather have bad depth and let the young guys develop now and next year than good depth and see Darko sit on the bench and get below 20mpg.


Bingo! It is not the signing so much as the coach. When you have a coward coach with zero job security, he will play the vets trying to squeeze out every win he can when in reality, player development should be the priority.


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

MemphisX said:


> Bingo! It is not the signing so much as the coach. When you have a coward coach with zero job security, he will play the vets trying to squeeze out every win he can when in reality, player development should be the priority.


regardless we will need a 2nd big man next year anyways..so why not a consistent big men is tony..tony is a great proffesional he knows the REAL reason why the magic resigned him


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## Hairy Midget (Nov 28, 2005)

MemphisX said:


> This franchise just doesn't get it. Why the hell are you resigning Battie? Why? Why? Why? You already hired a dufus *** coach and now you gave him a chance to make a decision. He has already showed that he will prefer playing Battie over Darko even though the team has no chance at making the playoffs.



He only had to play Battie in front of him because Darko hasn't played in two years. He isn't in enough shape to play 35 mpg.


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## X-Factor (Aug 24, 2004)

Nice to get a veteran back-up to help out Darko and Dwight for a few more years. He's already proved that he will put up the kind of production we need from our back-up bigman from his minutes this year.


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