Lewis taking aim at Sonics records

LOS ANGELES — The moment arrived with little fanfare and went away just as quietly, but perhaps fitting because almost all of Rashard Lewis' basketball feats have gone unnoticed since he became a Sonic.

Over the KeyArena loudspeaker, the public-address announcer momentarily turned the attention away from Tuesday's game against Utah and said: "With that last three-pointer, Rashard Lewis has moved past Dale Ellis and into second place on the team's all-time three-point field goals made list."

No one in the building was more surprised than Lewis, who turned away from a huddle on the sideline and stared at the giant video screen hanging above the floor to make sure he heard what he heard.

"I was shocked," the 26-year-old Sonics forward said after Wednesday's practice. "I was surprised when I heard them say Dale Ellis. I'm looking up and that's why I was kind of looking at the screen like, 'They talking about me?' Now they're making me feel like I'm 30 years old.

"It was more of a shock and surprising to know that I'm second place behind one guy and not top 10 or top five."

Only Gary Payton has more three-pointers with 917, but if you listen to Lewis, who has 702, they'll soon change places on the all-time list. He had never been motivated by chasing records, but Tuesday's announcement has prompted him to think about his legacy and career milestones.

After tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center, Lewis will move past Michael Cage into sixth place on the team's games-played list at 491.

"Now that I know about the three-pointer, now I want to look at where I'm at with points, rebounds, assists and everything from minutes [and] games played with the Sonics," he said. "Now I'm really interested in a lot of that stuff."

Once he does a little research, Lewis will discover that he's on pace to capture every major Sonics record — if he remains with the team and avoids any serious setbacks.

The two qualifiers should not be overlooked.

Lewis has a history of shoulder problems that could potentially derail a career that appears will end with his No. 7 jersey being retired and hoisted into the rafters at KeyArena.

There's also the sticky little matter of whether he wants to play for another team or spend his entire career in Seattle like his former coach, Nate McMillan.

"I can see myself playing for the rest of my career in Seattle, but I don't think that's going to be my decision," Lewis said. "I think that's going to be half of my decision, but a lot of the coaching staff and front office have a lot of control of every player here and where they want us to be and what they want us to do."

Lewis will never forget how the organization treated his good friend and former teammate, Desmond Mason, who once believed he was a cornerstone of the franchise before being traded in February 2003 to Milwaukee.

Without a hint of hesitation, Lewis said he's sure he'll exercise a clause in his contract to void the last two years of the deal following the 2006-07 season. He knows he's scheduled to earn more than $10 million in the '07-08 season, but expects his value on the free-agent market will exceed that.

Lewis isn't certain how much he'll be able to command, but he's fairly certain that it will be more than what the Sonics can afford.

"My mindset is that I'm going to look at the last two years of my contract, how much money I'm going to make in the last two years and how much money I can get if I opt out of my contract," Lewis said. "I think it's a lot of areas I'm going to have to look at [and] see what teams are going to be able to do. Is there going to be a lot of teams out there that are going to be able to pay me?

"Are the Sonics going to be able to pay me? I don't know. I know that same year if I opt out, Luke Ridnour is going to be up. Nick Collison is going to be up. There's going to be a lot of confusion going on after the amount of money that Ray [Allen] got. It's going to be tough, but I do plan on opting out."

The Sonics wouldn't necessarily have to break the bank to keep the trio because they'll be able to extend $3 million qualifying offers to Ridnour and Collison, who will be restricted free agents in the summer of 2007.

Still, it's clear that Lewis plans to use Allen's five-year, $80 million deal as a negotiating tool, and his leverage will increase if he's able to maintain his All-Star status and climb even higher on the team's all-time lists.

"It's just like you're leaving your mark," Lewis said. "It's like leaving my stamp on this team. I was bred here from the start to the finish. Hopefully, it can be to the finish. It just kind of lets you know that I wasn't one of those guys that just came to play."