Lorenzen Wright, shown here playing for the Atlanta Hawks in Dec. 2007, was found dead Wednesday in Memphis (Photo by Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel)

There’s some sad news out of Memphis, Tenn.

Lorenzen Wright, the former basketball star who went missing July 19, was found dead Wednesday.

The news and reaction to Wright’s passing are addressed in today’s NBA links.

Meanwhile, here in Orlando, the Magic announced some front-office promotions and contract extensions.

Onto the links:

1. Orlando Magic extend Van Gundy’s contract; promote team execs Alex Martins, Otis Smith, Orlando Sentinel, Josh Robbins
The Buzz: The Magic announced a flurry of moves on Wednesday — all of them involving top executives and their head coach.

2. Orlando Magic could add third point guard by end of the week, Orlando Sentinel, Josh Robbins
The Buzz: This notebook addresses the Magic’s third point guard spot, the possibility of taking on an additional salary for a potential Chris Paul trade and Stan Van Gundy’s business trip to Paris earlier this month.

3. With money, management in place, Magic stay focused on NBA title, Orlando Sentinel, George Diaz
The Buzz: George comments about the moves involving Alex Martins, Otis Smith and Van Gundy.

4. Missing Memphis basketball star Lorenzen Wright found dead, The Commercial Appeal,  Kristina Goetz and Beth Warren
The Buzz: Wright’s body was found in a wooded area of southeast Memphis.

Continue reading Top Magic and NBA news: Thursday, July 29 »

Rashard Lewis sprained his left ankle on this play in Game 2, but says he won't be slowed when the Magic face the Bobcats on Saturday (Photo by Cassie Armstrong/Orlando Sentinel)

Rashard Lewis emerged from the Orlando Magic players’ lounge following Friday’s practice with his left sneaker off, a bag of ice wrapped around his left ankle and a slight limp.

But the Magic power forward emphasized that the injury won’t slow him down when the Magic face the Charlotte Bobcats in Game 3 on Saturday.

“Hey, it’s the playoffs,” Lewis said. “An ankle sprain ain’t going to slow me up.”

Lewis said he hurt the ankle during the third quarter of Game 2 on Wednesday. On the sequence in question, Lewis went up for a layup on a fastbreak and had the ball blocked off the glass from behind by Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace.

Wallace then came down on Lewis’ ankle.

Lewis played well as the Magic won the series’ first two games. He is averaging 16.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

What really ticks Lewis off is that he feels he should’ve dunked the ball instead of go up for a layup on the play. As it turned out, Jameer Nelson recovered the rebound and followed with a layup of his own. The basket put the Magic up 54-41.

“I should’ve dunked it,” Lewis said. “I’m looking at him [Wallace] instead of looking at the rim to go for the shot, probably because he had a couple of blocked shots earlier in the game. Then, I didn’t finish the layup and then twisted my ankle at the same time. Both of ‘em are bad: a missed layup and an ankle sprain.

“At least go try to dunk the ball if you’re going to sprain your ankle.”

Follow Josh Robbins on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins and e-mail him at jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/newsletters.