HoopsHype.com Rumors

Michael Lee: Rashard Lewis has started to call Jan Vesely a "kangaroo" because he bounces around all the time. Jan: "I don't know what's that" #wizards Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis, Jan Vesely 

Jeff Zillgitt: Wizards F Rashard Lewis denies argument between him and assistant coach Sam Cassell led to him not playing SUN vs. T'wolves. Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis, Sam Cassell 

Chris Miller: Spoke to Rashard Lewis claims he and Sam Cassell were having a friendly disagreement. Didn't sit on bench due to no sports coat. Twitter

Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Sam Cassell 

“The only reason I didn’t play was because my knee was sore,” Lewis said. “No argument. No argument at all. I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe we because we haven’t won a game yet somebody is trying to make up stories. I guess point the finger at somebody I don’t know.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis, Sam Cassell 

“Everybody knows Sam. Sam’s a loud talker, regardless of what he’s talking about. If he’s talking to you in a friendly manner, he’s just a loud talker. I don’t know. Somebody must have took it and thought that me and Sam were arguing,” Lewis said. “Maybe we was just talking. I know at one point, he was talking about how he was playing with the Clippers and I played in Seattle and he busted up [Minnesota Timberwolves point guard] Luke Ridnour and was bragging and talking noise. Maybe somebody took it out of [context, that] we was arguing, when he was talking about how he killed us when he was playing for the Clippers and I played for the Sonics. I have no idea what’s going on.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis, Sam Cassell 

Michael Lee: Rashard Lewis denied spat with Sam Cassell. "No argument @ all. Maybe we because we haven’t won somebody is trying to make up stories." Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis, Sam Cassell 

Michael Lee: Flip Saunders said report of a Lewis-Cassell argument is "not true." Lewis added he wasn't on bench because he lacked sports coat #wizards Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis, Sam Cassell 

The Wizards are off to a franchise worst 0-8 start, and to make matters more troubling a team source tells CSNwashington.com that Wizards' forward Rashard Lewis got into an argument with Wizards' assistant coach Sam Cassell before the Minnesota game and Lewis decided he didn't want to play. CSNWashington.com

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis 

"It seemed like everybody's head was somewhere else besides this arena. To me no one had energy. No one came out ready to play," Lewis said. "You could just look at everyone's body language. I have no idea why. It's not legs. Everybody has a tough schedule. It's not an excuse. This is just a young team looking for direction. Everybody had bad body language tonight." ESPN.com

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis 

In an interview Tuesday, as he sat in his old team's practice gym, Lewis revealed that it took him months to come to terms with the blockbuster trade. He went from a team with legitimate NBA title aspirations to a team headed for the NBA lottery. And although he had heard rumors that a trade was in the offing, the deal still caught him by surprise. "At the time, when the trade happened, it was a blow," Lewis recalled. "It was a huge blow. My main focus was to try and win the NBA championship for the city of Orlando. We got close one year. We'd been to the Eastern Conference finals the year after that. It was nothing but good times here when we were winning ballgames, and I put everything into trying to bring a championship for this city and for this team. It just seemed like it came crashing down all in one day." Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, Trade, Rashard Lewis 

"I woke up that morning and I kind of heard the rumors of a trade, but you always hear rumors of a million different trades or a million different things that go on in the NBA," Lewis said. "I didn't talk to the coach about it. I didn't talk to the GM [Otis Smith]. Nobody told me nothing. "I came to the shootaround in the morning, and the vibe was weird. It was different at that shootaround that morning. Some guys were laughing and upbeat; maybe they knew about the trade, I don't know. It was just a different vibe. "Then, when I left to go home, I ate my pregame meal and took a nap. My phone started ringing while I was asleep; I woke up and looked at my phone and I saw it was Otis calling. I pretty much knew what happened just by seeing him call." Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, Trade, Rashard Lewis 

The Magic went 40-42 the season before Lewis was acquired. They went 52-30 the next season. Van Gundy said Lewis was the spark for that turnaround. Told of Van Gundy's comments, Lewis said, "It most definitely means a lot. It means my time wasn't wasted here. And I'm not the only person that turned it around. Of course, Dwight Howard was a big part of that. "And most definitely Stan Van Gundy was a huge part of that, the way he coached the game. I think a lot of guys take it for granted when he gets to screaming and yelling and nagging. He's doing it because he's coaching. He's not doing it because it's something personal against the guys on the team. And it shows out on the court; in the years he's been here, we got three Southeast Division championships and we got an Eastern Conference championship banner. That's not just from the players." Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, Trade, Rashard Lewis 

“Otis is going to be famous for making the Rashard Lewis deal and letting Dwight Howard go, and hopefully he doesn’t let him go. “One, they should show him a little bit more respect. And two, they should really get another dominant player in there. “If you look at the history of the league, most [successful] teams have had a definite 1-2 punch. Right now in Orlando you only have a 1 punch, so . . . “No one can really do it by themselves. When you have Otis on TV saying, ‘We’re not going to do what he wants us to do,’ you just give a guy ammunition to say, ‘You know what? I’m tired of this, I want to go somewhere else.’ ’’ Boston Globe

Orlando Magic, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard, Otis Smith, Rashard Lewis 

Lewis let the call drift to voice mail, then called his agent, Tony Dutt, to get confirmation that he was gone. Distraught, Lewis spoke with Smith. The two exchanged pleasantries and expressed mutual respect, but when he hung up, Lewis had to deal with the reality that he was a 30-something starting over with a rebuilding team. “I think it was most definitely devastating. Emotionally, mentally, it’s draining,” Lewis said recently. “It was a surprise when I got traded. So when you come from being on a team trying to win a championship to be on a team that barely wins road games and barely can win at home, as well . . . it was difficult. It was almost like you wanted the season to be over.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Trade, Rashard Lewis 

He has more security and comfort, which he struggled to find last season, when he dealt with the rejection from the Magic and dejection with the Wizards. Lewis also had a right knee injury that limited his productivity and contributed to his frustration. “I wasn’t really into it like I should’ve been. It seemed like everything came so fast during the trade,” Lewis said. “My knee was bad. You wanted a fresh start. You wanted it to be over because you’re coming to a team in turmoil and you’re trying to fix it but they dug a hole so deep, they just couldn’t get out of it. I didn’t say nothing about it last year. But it was most definitely very difficult.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Trade, Rashard Lewis 

Steve Kyler: Dwight was not consulted, neither was Jameer Nelson on the Rashard Lewis trade... again D12 was not happy... he got close to Gil this summer Twitter

Orlando Magic, Trade, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis 

The Wizards informed Rashard Lewis’s representatives last week that they have no intention of using the amnesty provision on the 13-year veteran forward who is owed $46 million over the next two seasons. Those plans to keep Lewis remain intact, according to a league source, despite new details – uncovered by SI.com’s Zach Lowe – emerging on Tuesday that the salary of any player waived through the amnesty clause will continue to count toward the salary floor, though not the salary cap. Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis 

Michael Lee: Flip wants Rashard Lewis to get back to the diversified player he was in Seattle & not be one-dimensional as he was in Orlando. Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis 

Chris Haynes: Rashard Lewis agent, Colin Bryant: "Lewis is happy being in Washington...looking forward to guiding Wiz to a playoff berth." Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis 

Marc J. Spears: Wizards won't be using amnesty clause on F Rashard Lewis, his agent Tony Dutt told Y! Sports. Lewis making $21.1 mil 11-12, $22.6 mill 12-13. Twitter

Washington Wizards, Rashard Lewis