article stating Rashard Lewis wanting to stay in Seattle

At the MSNBC website, <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/news/750176.asp">they have an article implying Lewis wants to stay in Seattle:</a>

<b>Sonics believe they can re-sign Lewis</b>

<i>Forward will seek maximum $102 million 7 year deal</i>


ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE, May 9 — The Seattle SuperSonics are convinced they can keep Rashard Lewis, and they believe he could carry the franchise for years. One of the Sonics’ top offseason priorities is making sure Lewis stays put. The starting small forward has a $13.24 million, three-year contract that doesn’t expire until 2003, but he plans to opt out of his contract this summer to become a free agent. He will seek the maximum salary of $102 million for seven years.

KEEPING LEWIS IS “one of our goals and we’re optimistic we’ll be able to get it done,” general manager Rick Sund said Thursday.

The Sonics are ready to commit big money to the 22-year-old Lewis, the team’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder this season.
The future of All-Star power forward Vin Baker in Seattle isn’t as clear. Trade rumors surrounding him surfaced last offseason but nothing materialized.
Sund said he wouldn’t discuss the 6-foot-11 Baker, who has four years left on an $87 million contract. Baker averaged 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds this season, but was inconsistent and struggled with injury. “Vin is my player and he is on our roster,” coach Nate McMillan said. “I am preparing for him to be here.”
McMillan expects All-Star point guard Gary Payton to honor the last year of his contract whether or not he is given the extension he is seeking. Payton will be 34 next season but McMillan said he can still play at the highest level.
“He slowed down a little bit but he’s still our leading scorer, our go-to guy,” McMillan said. “He looks fine to me.”
Sund said he could not talk about Payton’s status because the two have not yet met for an end-of-the-season “exit interview.” Payton led the Sonics in scoring with 22.1 points and passed for a career-high 9.0 assists. “Is everybody on our team a tradable commodity? Yes,” Sund said.
Sund said Lewis has indicated he wants to stay in Seattle, feels comfortable in the organization and likes his teammates.
McMillan said he learned a lot about Lewis when he played through pain in the first round of the playoffs.
Lewis missed the final 10 games of the regular season with a sprained left ankle, but returned to play in the first three games of Seattle’s best-of-five, first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs. He partially dislocated his left shoulder and missed the last two games of that series, which the Sonics lost 3-2. “He feels if he was there we could have won that series,” McMillan said.
Yet Lewis, noting his free agent status, also has said he didn’t want to try to come back too quickly because he was afraid of worsening his ankle injury.
McMillan wasn’t upset by the comment.
“This is a young guy going into a very important summer,” McMillan said.
Lewis will get a second opinion on his shoulder before team doctors determine whether he needs surgery, Sund said. He will undergo another MRI in a few weeks.
Lewis was Seattle’s second-leading scorer behind Payton at 16.8 points and led the team with 7.0 rebounds in his fourth year with the Sonics.