It may be a short-term gain, but the eastern Conference gained momentum this week when the Seattle SuperSonics’ Rashard lewis signed a free agent deal with the Orlando Magic.

Like the Knicks’ trade for Portland forward Zach Randolph and boston’s deal for Sonics guard Ray Allen, the Lewis deal is a calculated gamble, but of the three, the magic should reap the best return on its investment.

The 28-year-old, 6-foot-10-inch forward, who has averaged 22.4 points and 6.6 boards per game while shooting 46.1% from the field, was on nearly every general manager’s wish list. The magic worked quickly and inked lewis to a five-year deal in the $60 million range (exact terms cannot be disclosed until after the salary cap for the 2007–08 season is announced on Wednesday).

Lewis should be a good fit on Orlando, a very good defensive team last season (40–42) that ranked seventh in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions), but was putrid when it had the ball, finishing 24th in offensive efficiency. In addition, the magic will probably lose veteran swingman Grant Hill. The oft-injured Hill played in 65 games last season and averaged 18.6 points per contest, but the 33-year-old seems likely to decamp to a title contender.

So what’s the gamble?

To slip lewis’s contract under the cap, the magic had to renounce their rights to Darko Milicic , one of their better defenders. Milicic was infuriating to watch this year since he played hard only about twice a week, but 22-year-old, 7-footers who average 13.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.9 blocked shots per 40 minutes aren’t easy to come by. There are probably between 15 and 20 NBA team presidents who spent part of their holiday pitching Darko’s agent. Furthermore, Milicic’s departure leaves the magic thinner than most supermodels on the front line. The team now has only two established veterans to man the paint: superstar-inthe-making dwight Howard and veteran journeyman Tony Battie .

Of course one option when you’re a tad short is to pump up the tempo, and the new coach, Stan Van Gundy, may be planning to do just that. The magic lineup is full of guys who run the floor well, and playing at a slow tempo last season — when the magic finished 26th in Pace Factor (possessions per game) — did nothing for the scoring prowess of those players.

Adding to my suspicion that Orlando plans to go small inside and pump up the tempo is that the magic didn’t try to clear cap space for Lewis by dealing the incumbent small forward, Hidayet Türkoglu, a 6-foot-10-inch perimeter player who shoots reasonably well and has a readily manageable contract. I don’t think the Magic plan on paying $6 million a season for a reserve forward, and neither Lewis nor Turkoglu is effective as a two guard.

Nevertheless, the signing makes Orlando stronger, and they should benefit from the continued maturation of Howard and point guard Jameer nelson. Still, it’s far too early to forecast the team for the Conference Finals. Instead, I think Miami will have stiffer competition for the Southeast division title.

The Lewis signing has led several members of the local hoops commentariat to call on the Knicks president, Isiah Thomas, to pursue the Sacramento Kings’ Ron Artest. The Kings are in rebuilding mode and would love to dump the troubled, suspension-prone forward, and Artest, a Queensbridge, n.Y., native, has frequently said that becoming a Knick is among his career goals. but the acquisition of Artest would make for better headlines than basketball. Just as neither Randolph, nor Knicks center Eddy Curry are enthusiastic passers, Artest has shown a diminishing interest in sharing the rock. Adding him to that front line with a backcourt that includes Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford would require more basketballs in play at one time than NBA rules allow. The Knicks have a stellar defender-in-the-making in Renaldo Balkman, and most trade rumors involve David Lee. These are the two Knicks who are effective even without a basketball in their hands. On a team with so many ball-hogs, the presence of Balkman and Lee will be vital.

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Although his agent vehemently denies it, the Associated Press and several detroit press outlets are circulating reports that the Pistons have re-signed point guard Chauncey billups to a five-year, $60 million deal. The deal may or may not be done, but it seems inevitable. billups is an All-Star caliber player, but he’s 30 and probably worth far more to the Pistons than any other team. With nearly every other team in the NBA over the salary cap, the only way for billups to make as much from another team as the Pistons are said to be offering is via a sign-and-trade and the Pistons could simply refuse such an offer. In re-signing him, the Pistons would retain the nucleus of a team that has won 50 games or more for six straight seasons.

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The Sonics are expected to announce today that they have hired as their new head coach, a former coach for Seton Hall University, Portland, and Golden State, P.J. Carlesimo. The announcement comes as no surprise since it was the Sonics’ interest in Carlesimo that led to the hiring of Sam Presti as general manager. Although Carlesimo is best known as Latrell Sprewell’s choking victim in an ugly December 1997 incident in Oakland, the veteran coach’s teams have almost always played solid defense. The Sonics’ biggest weakness during the last two seasons has been in stopping their opponents. Although the future of the franchise in Seattle remains unsettled, the team has made all the right moves so far this off-season.

mjohnson@nysun.com