Rashard Lewis to Houston?

Hmmmmm........verrrrrry interrrrresting. Although he would be a bit pricey. It'd have to be a sign & trade, because we won't have any cap space. What would we be willing to give up or would we even want him?

http://www.tribnet.com/cgi-bin/makeframes.plx?/sports/

Will Lewis opt out?
Uncertain future: Forward wants Sonics to pay him max salary or will consider leaving

Frank Hughes; The News Tribune



Seattle SuperSonics forward Rashard Lewis confirmed to The News Tribune on Monday that he plans to opt out of his contract in the summer and become an unrestricted free agent.

Lewis also said that he wants the Sonics to pay him the maximum salary allowable, a contract starting at $10.6 million per season, or he is going to explore joining another team.

"I am going to look at my options again this summer, like I did last time I was a free agent (in the summer of 2000)," Lewis said. "I think I will have more options this summer, I have a better chance to go on to a place where I want to go. I am definitely going to look at my options if they want to mess around or play around money-wise."

Lewis signed a three-year, $13 million contract with Seattle two summers ago, but has an escape clause that allows him to become a free agent this summer. Because he is getting a new contract and not an extension, Lewis is seeking a deal worth around $102 million over seven seasons.

Sonics majority owner Howard Schultz declined to be interviewed for this story. Sonics CEO Wally Walker said the team wants to keep Lewis, but declined to comment in detail because Lewis has not yet opted out of his contract.

"Nothing that we've said has changed," Walker said. "We like everything about Rashard, on the court and off the court. We think he has a tremendous future, and we want it to be here. But this is off-season business and we want to worry about that stuff in the summer."

Lewis, however, has the luxury to think about his future now, which is why he has begun comparing himself to other players around the league who have signed maximum contracts.

The one player Lewis is focusing on is Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who signed a six-year, $70.8 million contract extension in the summer of 1999.

"My numbers compare to Kobe Bryant's numbers when he was a rookie in the NBA, and his next two years, and our numbers are pretty much around the same area," Lewis said. "I am developing well, the same way he developed as the years went by."

In Bryant's third season in the NBA, Bryant, 23, a year older than Lewis, averaged 19.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists. In Lewis' third season, he averaged 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists. Lewis, whose averages have increased every season, is averaging 16.6 points and 7.6 rebounds this season, shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

"I feel I am one of the better small forwards because I can shoot, post up, rebound, pretty much do a lot of things," Lewis said. "I am not necessarily worried about 'am I going to be an All-Star this year,' but I definitely want to be in there next year, after I sign my new contract this summer, and kind of be in a position where All-Star status is put on my shoulders before the season even starts."

The thing Lewis has going for him is there is a dearth of free-agent talent this summer, which means he will be the main target for teams that have salary cap space, unless Portland's Rasheed Wallace is able to opt out his contract (his escape clause is incentive-based). Otherwise, every other top free agent is restricted, which means their teams have a right of first refusal.

The Sonics can pay Lewis the most money unless they do a sign-and-trade with another team. If another team signs Lewis as a free agent, he could earn $96.68 million over seven years.

"I am one of the top free agents this summer, so there will be a lot of teams looking at me," Lewis said. "I have a chance to weigh my options. I know working out this summer with John Lucas from Cleveland, he was talking to me about trying to get me out there. But that is mostly talk.

"I think the Sonics already know the potential is there. If they want to negotiate by not giving me the max, or whatever they want to give me, I am going to look at my options regardless. Things are going well now, we are winning ballgames and hopefully we'll make the playoffs. But I feel that if I can go back home (to Houston) or go somewhere closer to home and get the same amount of money, then that is something I would do."

It's interesting that Lewis talks of playing in Houston, because he recently purchased a $2.5 million home there. He said he will not look for a house in Seattle until his contract situation is settled.

"There is no telling what will happen," Lewis said. "There is so much stuff going on in the front office that you never know about. They could tell you one thing and they could do another.

"They pretty much told me that I would be here for the future and that they would build the team around me, but you never know what could happen in the future. You could get traded, or they could pick up somebody else, there is just no telling. So I want to be on the safe side. I know Houston is my home, and that is where I am always going to go, regardless."

Ultimately, Lewis wants to stay in Seattle, primarily because he wants to be, along with teammate and good friend Desmond Mason, centerpieces of the future.

"I know if I sign a long-term deal, I am going to be here a long time," Lewis said. "If I am here for the next seven years, I will sign another contract when I am, what, 28? If they want to look at me as the long-term future and want to rebuild, why not start now?"

 

That's what I was thinking.