NBA Rumors: Rashard Lewis Would Be a Perfect Fit for Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are closely monitoring the situation of Washington Wizards small forward Rashard Lewis, according to Mike Bresnahan. Lewis would be the type of shooter Los Angeles could use to avoid extended scoring droughts that plagued the Lakers at times last season.

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The Lakers are curious to see if veteran point guard Baron Davis gets cut by Cleveland. He has two years and $28.7 million left on his contract, though he can be signed for substantially less than that. The Lakers also want a shooter and are monitoring whether forward Rashard Lewis (two years, $43.8 million remaining) gets waived by Washington.

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Lewis struggled after joining the Wizards last season, scoring just 11.4 points per game. He shot his worst percentage from beyond the arc (34.7) since 2002 and never found a comfort zone playing in Washington.

The lack of production combined with a possible payroll-cutting move by the Wizards could equal a big opportunity for the Lakers.

They could use a more well-rounded threat than Ron Artest, Metta World Peace or whatever he's calling himself this week. Peace averaged less than 10 points for the first time in his career last season and could be cut using the Lakers' amnesty clause.

There are better options, even those other than Lewis, to fill the 30 minutes per game that Artest was eating up.

Despite speculation that Los Angeles could chase Dwight Howard, Chris Paul or another one of next offseason's big free agents via trade, the Lakers will likely be relegated to a smaller move or two because of the shortened negotiation period.

However, a smaller mid-level exception paired with the Lakers' salary cap woes are a major roadblock in any negotiations for the former second-round pick by the Seattle SuperSonics.

Lewis might be willing to accept a smaller deal to play alongside Kobe Bryant and the rest of Los Angeles' stars. He's doesn't shy away from the spotlight, so he would handle the celebrity-filled stands just fine.

That said, he'd have to take a significant pay cut to become a Laker unless there was some type of sign-and-trade deal which also worked under the cap. All of the agreements in the proposed CBA are still being unearthed, so sign-and-trade is a murky situation right now.

All told, the Lakers and Lewis seem like a perfect match, but there's still a lot steps necessary to get him in a purple and gold jersey.