National Basketball Association

Big contract, but no amnesty for Wizards' Lewis

Published Dec. 14, 2011 7:06 p.m. ET

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It became fashionable to pick on players like Rashard Lewis during the NBA lockout. His six-year, $118 million contract was cited as an example of spending run amok in the NBA, one that led the owners and players' union to offer each team an one-time amnesty clause once basketball resumed.

As such, Lewis expected to be an amnesty case. He surely thought the Washington Wizards would let him go so they could wipe the remaining two years of his deal off the books - at least for salary cap purposes. The Wizards acquired him from the Orlando Magic in a midseason trade a year ago primarily as a means of getting rid of Gilbert Arenas, and a sore right knee kept him from looking anything like the player he once was with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Instead, he is back - and unapologetic about the size of his paychecks.

''I got a contract coming out of Seattle. I was a great player in Seattle,'' Lewis said during an interview after a practice this week at training camp. ''Go back at look at the stats. When I went to Orlando, it was a good team. On a good team full of All-Stars, you've got to know your role, you've got to play the chemistry of the team, and that's what I did. And regardless of what everybody says, I know what I am and what I did. I just come to play basketball; I just come to win games. I'm not a selfish player. I'm not a stat-stacker.

''There's nothing to be shamed of at all. I've played for 13 years. To me, it's well-earned.''

The Wizards say they never considered parting ways with Lewis. They didn't plan to be aggressive in free agency, so they're able to carry Lewis' salary without putting a squeeze on the cap. If they had gotten rid of him, they would have had to find another player to fill his role - not an easy task in the compressed timetable leading to the season opener.

Besides, his job is an important one. The Wizards want the 32-year-old forward to be a mentoring veteran on a roster full of younger, maturing players, including John Wall, Jordan Crawford, JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche.

''We knew that once he could get healthy and maybe get back to playing how he did in Seattle, he could be effective for us,'' coach Flip Saunders said. ''He's had a good camp. He's given great leadership to a lot of our young players. Like most veterans who have been around, his knees are sore but he still plugs away because he's trying to show to a young player that how tired you are or whatever, that you have to fight through things - especially with the situation of a shortened training camp.''

There's little doubt Lewis put up big-contract stats with the SuperSonics. He was a 20-and-5 player each of his last three seasons in Seattle, posting 22.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in his final season in 2006-07. In Orlando, he shared the spotlight at times with Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter and Hedo Turkoglu and started taking more 3-pointers, becoming more of a 17-and-4 guy.

When the Magic were sputtering last season, they shook things up with a pair of Dec. 18 trades. Lewis came to Washington, but he played in only 32 games after his arrival because his knee was acting up. He averaged 11.4 points for a team that finished 23-59.

Lewis says he's now healthy - he's one of the many injured players that benefited from the late start to training camp. Wall said he saw Lewis make explosive moves during lockout games in Las Vegas, moves Lewis couldn't pull off last season. While he's not going to be the featured player - the Wizards are Wall's team, first and foremost - Lewis is feeling like his old Sonics self.

''I've got to get back to playing the way I was in Seattle, shooting 3s, posting up, getting to the basket, attacking the basket - pretty much all-around player,'' Lewis said. ''I lost that playing three years in Orlando, and I worked on lot of that this summer - and I'm back to it.''

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Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP