Rashard Lewis on trade rumors: "You've got to block it out"

The Wizards are 6-12 with Lewis in the lineup, and they have also have wins against Utah and Boston. Lewis wasn't acquired to necessarily turn around the team, with the primary objective being to shed Gilbert Arenas's hefty contract and his excessive baggage. Lewis has brought some professionalism to the team and been a positive influence, despite the poor results on the floor.

When asked about the trade rumors, Lewis didn't sound as if he was bother them too much. He already dealt with his biggest surprise of the season, when he was awakened from his pre-game nap on Dec. 18 to find out that he was being traded from a championship contender in Orlando to a lottery team in Washington.

"I guess you can say it's a little bit tougher now," Lewis said. "You always hear rumors, but you don't know if they are true or not, until it happens. You think about what if, and if it does happen, you've got to go with the situation. As for rumors, you can try to block it out, as much as possible. Even if they are talking about you. You've got to block it out because it does affect your game a little bit."
Lewis said he hasn't had much time to think about being traded again, as he still adjusts to a new system and new city. "It's been a short period of time, and everything moves on the fly, you have to learn on the fly. You don't have time during the summer to learn everything and talk about everything that's going on. Trade happens, you have to learn on the fly, play on the fly and kind of learn what the organization, what type of team they are building as we continue to play. I'm sure there are a number of things that's been talked about."

He also hasn't heard any specific rumors about where he could be dealt. "I have no idea," said Lewis, who is averaging 13.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists with the Wizards. "The deadline is coming up, so anything can happen. You never know. I just got to come here and be ready to play basketball everyday and be a leader to some of these young guys. You never know what can happen. Around the trade deadline, I'm sure there's a lot of things that could be going on, not only with this team, but other teams."