Rashard Lewis

Southeast Notes: Lewis, Heat, Howard

Let's take a look around the Southeast Division as the Louisville Cardinals knocked off the NBA lottery pick-laden Florida Gators to punch their ticket to the Big Easy for the Final Four.

  • Michael Lee of The Washington Post checks in with Rashard Lewis, who is dealing with two injured knees and hasn't played since the All-Star break. He said Lewis was part of a proposed deal that would have sent him and Javale McGee to the Hornets for Chris Kaman, Trevor Ariza and Carl Landry, but the Wizards chose to make last week's three-team deal with Clippers and Nuggets instead. Lewis is making one of the highest salaries in the league at $21.1MM this season. He's guaranteed only $13.7MM next year, and while the Wizards said in December they wouldn't use the amnesty clause on him, you have to wonder whether they'll rethink that decision.
  • Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel finds it interesting the Bulls are letting point guard Mike James dangle until April when the Heat could use a veteran at his position (Twitter link).
  • While Dwight Howard's status with the Magic has become a bit clearer for the immediate future, Brian Schmitz considers what the long term holds for the Orlando big man heading into next season.

Wizards Still Shopping McGee, Blatche

Wizards president is still pursuing trades and a source with knowledge of the situation tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post that the Wizards may strike a pre-deadline deal.

A league source tells Lee that Washington's demands for McGee are "reasonable," as the Wizards are seeking an NBA starter. However, the Wizards are having problems matching McGee's modest $2.5MM salary in any deal without involving players like Rashard Lewis and Andray Blatche who understandably aren't drawing much interest.

Teams have been reluctant to even listen to pitches involving Blatche, says Lee. The Wizards tried to engage the Pistons on Blatche in recent weeks, but were quickly rebuffed.

Odds & Ends: Rondo, Lewis, Heat, Varejao

The Celtics look to catch the 76ers in the Atlantic standings, and the Bobcats aim for their first winning streak of the season in tonight's slate of games. But before the evening action gets underway, let's round up the latest odds and ends from around the NBA:

Odds & Ends: Wizards, Adelman, Irving

Notes from around the league on Monday night: