Up until this season, Rashard Lewis was the second highest paid player in the NBA. His contract was so high the Orlando Magic actually took on Gilbert Arenas’ contract just to get rid of it. Well times have changed a bit for Lewis. He was recently traded to the New Orleans Hornets, who then waived him and his partially guaranteed contract. Now Lewis is looking to hook up with a new team and according to the New York Post’s Marc Berman, the San Antonio Spurs are on that list.
“A source told The Post Tuesday the Knicks were on Lewis’ short list, along with Miami, the Lakers, San Antonio and Atlanta.”
Lewis was dreadful for the Wizards last season. He averaged 7.8 ppg and 3.9 rpg. Even worse, he shot 24 percent from three. His numbers before last season aren’t terrible, but still show a steady decline as he’s gotten older. However, Lewis is a guy who was used to being on a winning team, so it could just be that he really didn’t care last season since the Wizards were such a mess. This is similar to Boris Diaw’s last season in Charlotte. It seemed like he just didn’t care and numbers reflected that.
If he came cheap, would a change in scenery help Lewis? As ESPN’s John Hollinger points out, Lewis can still shoot the corner three. During the 2010-2011 campaign, Lewis shot 43 percent from the corner. The other thing to consider is given how bad Washington was last season, Lewis probably wasn’t open when he took some of these shots. Would the Spurs ask much more of him than to stand somewhere on the three point line and shoot wide open jumpers? Probably not. I’d say Lewis is worth the veteran minimum for a year, especially if Erazem Lorbek doesn’t come over. However, the Post reports Lewis is hoping he’ll be able to sign for around $3 million. I’d say that’s too high, but the $1.4 million veteran’s minimum? Sure, why not? Lewis could resurrect his career the way Diaw did.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
