FanHouse

Mickael Pietrus has been available for about a full two years now, having clashed with Nellieball and the Golden State front office during his term with the Warriors. This summer, Pietrus finally became an unrestricted free agent, which allowed him to choose his own adventure. And he found a team today, reports John Denton of Florida Today, with the Orlando Magic (via BallHype).

Denton says the contract starts at about $5.2 million, and the San Francisco Chronicle's Janny Hu reports a four-year term for the deal. That puts us at roughly $24 million for four years, which doesn't seem too worthy of a harrumph or hiss. Pietrus needs to perform better to justify that grub, certainly, but he's a good player and a tenacious defender who should get along with Stan Van Gundy just fine. (And hey, Orlando's not that far from Guadeloupe.)

The thing that's most baffling, in retrospect, about Pietrus' career to date: how does he not like Nellieball?! He's a rangy, hyperathletic beast who would seem to be best served in a role as maniac on the floor. And at his best, that's what he was. The Magic's system is definitely different, and if Pietrus is seriously serious that he can perform at a higher level within more static basketball parameters than Don Nelson can offer, then let's believe him and hope for the best.