Rashard Lewis Injury: Updates on Mavericks Forward's Recovery from Knee Surgery

Updates from Wednesday, July 23

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports on the status of Rashard Lewis' contract with the Dallas Mavericks:

Updates from Tuesday, July 22

Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times has an update on Lewis' status:

Original Text

The Dallas Mavericks have built a veteran roster to contend in the Western Conference, but one of their recent signings in forward Rashard Lewis may not net the intended immediate dividends.   

According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, Lewis will undergo surgery on his right knee:

Spears also reported a quote from Lewis' agent:

Rotowire's Jeff Stotts added his input upon learning the news:

Lewis, 34, has been a stretch 4 throughout his lengthy NBA career, creating matchup problems with his shooting range. He is a career 38.6 percent shooter from beyond the arc, giving the Mavericks more versatility on the perimeter.

Dallas also reunited with center Tyson Chandler through a trade and lured away restricted free agent Chandler Parsons from the Houston Rockets. The Mavs faithful now have high hopes after they pushed the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs to seven games in the opening round of the 2014 NBA playoffs.

Although he isn't expected to be the biggest contributor, Lewis provides key depth and can be deployed at either the 4 or 3, spelling Dallas superstar Dirk Nowitzki or even Parsons. That Lewis offers similar shooting range to Nowitzki allows continuity across different lineups for the Mavs offense, making Dallas all the more of an ideal destination for Lewis as the end of his career approaches.

Lewis' deal is of the one-year variety, so it is key that his knee surgery and subsequent recovery goes well. That depends largely on the severity of the procedure's circumstances. If this operation is indeed serious, the Mavs will have gotten little out of what they expected to be a key spot on the 2014-15 roster.