SATURDAY, 6:17pm: The Hornets announced that they have bought out Lewis.
TUESDAY, 11:02pm: Rashard Lewis will be bought out by the Hornets and is set to become an unrestricted free agent, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Lewis is under contract for over $22MM in 2012/13, but only about $13.7MM is guaranteed, so New Orleans will shave nearly $9MM off of its cap figure for next year.
Lewis, who will turn 33 this summer, was traded to the Hornets by the Wizards last week, at which time ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that New Orleans intended to release him. The veteran shooter is extremely unlikely to be claimed, so once he clears waivers, he'll be free to sign with any team besides Washington.
In 28 games for the Wizards in 2011/12, Lewis averaged just 7.8 PPG on 38.5% shooting, both his lowest rates since his rookie season in 1998/99.
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