According to ESPN.com news services Rashard Lewis has opted out of his deal with the Seattle SuperSonics. He passed on the Sonics' $25 million extension this past February and left 21 million guaranteed big ones on the table by opting out of his current deal. I can't say I have much experience with leaving $21 million on the table, but my NBA instincts say that Rashard is doing the right thing. He's going to make dollars like EPMD this summer as one of the premiere free agents on the market. It wasn't too long ago that he was a high schooler left stranded and crying in the NBA Draft green room after teams foolishly passed him up in the 1st round, so good for him.
Rashard's looking to get paid!
There's a ton to like about Rashard Lewis' game. He's a sweet shooting 6 foot 10 inch small forward that can rebound and pass. Lewis is only two years removed from being a Western Conference All Star forward which is no small feat at all. He wasn't a 2007 NBA All Star, but he's actually coming off a career best year in which he posted 22.4ppg, 6.6rpb, 2.4 apg, 1.1 spg, and 0.7bpg. His 39% stroke from downtown and 84.1% from the charity stripe are also very nice. I'm not sold on his defense, but he's still young and athletic enough to improve in that facet of the game with proper tutoring.
Given his skillset, he's an obvious fit for Nellieball, but as long as the Warriors don't lose both Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus this offseason, they don't really have a need for another swingman. Rashard Lewis is obviously going to come with a very expensive price tag too, but you never know what could go down when it's all said and done.
Should the Warriors be looking into bringing Rashard Lewis to the Bay? Where do you think he'll end up?