# Rashard Lewis and Dallas



## sabby187 (Jul 26, 2002)

Has anybody heard what Lewis thought about Dallas when he visited on Thursday? I'd like to know if he was impressed, and if he was intrigued enough to possibly sign for the 3 year/$15 million deal.

I know he was also going to Houston after leaving Dallas, and Houston has more cap room and the home-town bias to get Lewis.

The Sonics pretty much dug their own grave with the salary complications with Lewis, but they're not out of the picture.

Who else is serious about signing Lewis to a deal? I know there are a lot of teams out there that are interested, but who is actually serious?


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## Devestata (May 29, 2002)

Yes, I believe he is going to sign with Dallas, I've heard from an Inside Source. (Cannot post the whole thing, it's copyright infringement). Here is part of the Article though:

*"Lewis was in Dallas for a visit with the Mavs yesterday and things apparently went so well, that owner Marc Cuban and Lewis were seen at a "gentleman's club"- hanging out late into the evening. Mark Cuban has not been subtle in recruiting him and the Mavs may just have succeeded in luring Lewis back to his home state of Texas. In case they failed, Lewis may find more money in Chicago- who also appear to have shifted their attention away from Clark as well."*

Giving that, expect Lewis to sign with Dallas.


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## MAVSFAN (Jun 12, 2002)

The one question I have about Lewis is: Can he play defense? If He can't, why would Dallas be interested in him? The need a rebounding threat. The Mavs already have enough scorers. They don't need anymore.


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## Devestata (May 29, 2002)

> Originally posted by *MAVSFAN *
> The one question I have about Lewis is: Can he play defense? If He can't, why would Dallas be interested in him? The need a rebounding threat. The Mavs already have enough scorers. They don't need anymore.


Lewis' only fault is on defense. Then again, he can rebound, so I'd pick him up for whatever he's asking. I still think he wants 100 million...?


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

I hope Houston. Houston is my fav. team


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## Turtle219 (Jul 23, 2002)

houston signed their rookie SF, and still have power forward log jam so they just can't sign lewis away, they would want to trade one of their PFs which would benefit both since sonics just traded VB....
but i doubt houston has a legitimate chance, i see him going to Mavs as well, he would do better there than chicago (but neither is ideal for him)


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## allenive21 (Jul 28, 2002)

There's a loop where Lewis can go to Dallas, sign for 2 years, then in 2 years, get a max contract. He can earn actually more money by going to Dallas rather than staying in Seattle.


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## RetroDreams (Jun 9, 2002)

> Originally posted by *allenive21 *
> There's a loop where Lewis can go to Dallas, sign for 2 years, then in 2 years, get a max contract. He can earn actually more money by going to Dallas rather than staying in Seattle.


While this my be true technically, it won't work that way. The days of the MAX contract in the NBA may be numbered. With the cap being lowered and the luxury tax, teams aren't eager to just hand out a MAX deal to keep their players anymore.

Case in point, Andre Miller, who statistically was a top 5 PG on one of the worst teams in the NBA. That said, I think Rashard will get the most money by staying in Seattle.

However, if he goes to an organization that doesn't mind the luxury tax, such as Dallas or Portland, it may be more of a possibility. Even if that is the case, I would think Dallas would rather do a sign and trade because with the recent signing of LaFrentz, the jump in pay for Nowitzki and the MAX deal given to Finley, they are dishing out some serious cash.

I mentioned a S&T deal with Seattle, Dallas, and Chicago that would send Finley to Chicago, Rashard to Dallas and Jamal Crawford and others to Seattle, but it is hard to make happen because when Rashard is signed, there are BYC considerations.


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## allenive21 (Jul 28, 2002)

Remember, you're dealing with Mark Cuban here who isn't afraid of the luxory tax. He will spend whatever it takes to win and if Rashard is a good fit in Dallas, Cuban will dish out the money.


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## RetroDreams (Jun 9, 2002)

> Originally posted by *allenive21 *
> Remember, you're dealing with Mark Cuban here who isn't afraid of the luxory tax. He will spend whatever it takes to win and if Rashard is a good fit in Dallas, Cuban will dish out the money.


There is no doubt Cuban will dish out the money... but why grossly overspend? Cuban got his money with some smart decisions and he isn't just going to throw it down the drain.

If Rashard comes to Dallas, is Finley going to move to the SG spot exclusively? Rashard isn't going to go somewhere that he isn't going to play major minutes.

My four rules of free agency... and in this order.

1) Get paid
2) Playing time
3) Contender
4) Outside basketball lifestyle 

Rashard is going to get paid, one way or another. That moves to the next thing, which is PT. In Seattle, he is guaranteed 35mpg and in Dallas would this be the case?

I'm assuming #'s 3 & 4 aren't as big of a deal as #1 & #2 are since he is considering teams that were pretty bad last year, like making a visit to Chicago.


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