Seattle's Damien Wilkins took a cue from his close friend Rashard Lewis, who hired agent Mark Dutt and then signed a six-year, $118 million contract with the Orlando Magic. Wilkins has changed agents, firing Mark Bartelstein and hiring the Houston-based Dutt, who helped Lewis get the maximum deal from the Magic.
Wilkins is in the third year of a five-year, $15 million deal. He can opt out after the 2008-09 season. Wilkins is the second Sonic to change agents in the past few weeks. Chris Wilcox, a free agent after next season, fired Jeff Fried and hired Jeff Schwartz.