Well I'm certainly not going to make the case that he's underpaid, but has it come to the point where his production has caught up to his contract? Effectively now $67.7M over 5 years -- in the dawn of $102M ultimatums, securing a low post presence for a fraction of that has arguably become a sound deal.

Following yet another dominant game by Vin, I'm no longer convinced labels of "disappointment" and "underachiever" still apply to the forward, despite the latter being used in the latest column of Frank Hughes.

Baker isn't the same player that dominated the pre-zone NBA when he first came to Seattle, but like Michael Jordan's second and third comebacks and the transformation of his game, the new Vin Baker has found other ways to prove formidable, if not through blazing speed and prevailing grace.

Once the black sheep on a terrible Wally Walker resume, Vin Baker could end up being one of the bright spots that punctuate the next successful Sonic era already in motion.

Currently, there isn't any reason Vin can't be with this team through the life of his contract that expires in the summer 2006. That would give Baker 4 more complete seasons with Desmond Mason, Rashard Lewis, Vladimir Radmanovic, and quite possibly still with Gary Payton. Four seasons that, if completed as strong as he is playing now, would put Baker 180 degrees in the public eye from when he first signed the deal.

It was a promise he said he would deliver, a feat he long coveted.

After the abuse Baker took the past few seasons (whether deserved or not), It would be offensive to not give credit where credit is now due.

To Vin: For a Job well done.

Seattle appears to have lucked out on the Baker deal, but really; should it enter into another long term, max deal that could end up being an even riskier financial decision?

The comments by Rashard Lewis were both shocking and shocking twice: First, the person who supposedly made the comments; second, the surprisingly bad logic behind them.

I was just taken back by his demands and by the time my brain processed the Kobe Bryant comment, you would have thought feces sat under my nose.

The article should have been posted in the "Comics" section of the News, rather then Sports, right between Charlie Brown and The Far Side.

But, having had some air since first reading the Hughes piece, I did get around to look up Bryant's stats a to compare them to Lewis.

I was surprised to find out, Lewis does have a point.

The stats ARE remarkable similar -- even in minutes per game -- during the era where Kobe was good, but not dominant, deferring mostly through Shaq.

Before we count off Lewis' millions, here is where the point ends.

TRUE: The past three seasons of Rashard Lewis are very close to a 3-season stretch of a young Kobe Bryant, as Bryant became the best young guard in the game.

FALSE: Kobe's Bryant stats were THE indicatory measure of the dominance that was to come, and just about any other conclusion drawn from those stats that isn't marked under TRUE.

With Kobe Bryant, there was little doubt after his first season in the league that Bryant would become a dominant player in the very near future. Sorry to say, it wasn't the stats alone that did it, it was the freak inside the jersey. Kobe was ready for Showtime at 17 and had more heart at that age, then most NBA players period.

This is a kid who sabotaged High School games so he can come back and win at the buzzer, a kid dared to take the ball out of Shaq's hands, a player who averaged 15 points off the bench, and a kid who even held his ground to FIGHT Shaq.

It wasn't the 18 ppg that got him compared to Jordan (all the more reason Lewis's 17 ppg is of less ground to be compared to Bryant), it was the toughness, the game, the dominance, the intangibles -- things that were destined to make him great.

None of which was, "because he's a nice guy" (which he is).

I remember one play, where Kobe as a rookie or a sophomore crossed over a Washington Wizard player at the key, took one step in the paint, rocketed in the air, extended his body the farthest natural laws would allow, and rammed the ball down on the head of Ben Wallace and the entire Wizard team. The Lakers bench just stood up as to say, "Oh my God?"

Six years later and I still think "Oh my god?"

We can talk stats all summer long, but the real aspect that separates Rashard Lewis from Kobe Bryant and ultimately a $102M contract, is heart.

Lewis's agent, through Lewis, spoke at length of how his stats improved from year to year but he fails to mention that his client still doesn't possess, or at least display, enough heart to take a team anywhere. From year one to year four, the improvement in this category isn't quite so Bryant-like as there remain rookies that come into the league with more heart then he.

I simply do not buy into this "how do you know" philosophy of some bleeding heart Sonics fans -- "How do you know Lewis isn't a leader in the locker room? Or; How do you know that Lewis can't be?"

It's cow feces, the argument, you know it, and I know it.

Besides, the lack of heart is displayed every possession where Lewis has the opportunity to flush it over a defender and simply, does not. Often times, what should have been dunks ends up being faint lay-up attempts that are blocked, rebounded, or otherwise turned over.

Under normal circumstances, if a player doesn't possess the heart to take a team anywhere, it behooves a franchise not to invest that kind of money into that player.

It's that simple.

Heart may prove to be the Achilles heel of Rashard Lewis; one that I am not sure can be compensated for, vastly improved on, or worked out in the gym.

At age 17, 18, or age 22, there was never a question of Kobe's heart. Some even thought he had a little TOO MUCH of it! But it was very clear from "Go" that Bryant had it in him to be a leader and a warrior and it had nothing to do with 17ppg in his third season.

But I will say this about Mr. Lewis. I do not limit what he can be, but I present chilling odds. Heart would be one of the final pieces for Lewis and it manifests itself in ways the go beyond the stat sheet. I don't think his ball handling is that bad, but why he gets little out of it is I don't think he has enough heart to finish effectively. Heart will get free throws. Heart will eventually get the respect from the referees. Heart goes along way.

Ruben Patterson for example, if you talk to some Sonic fans; couldn't dribble, couldn't shoot -- and he couldn't be stopped. With the seemingly limited skills Ruben had, Ruben simply could not be checked by any one person, not even perennial defensive first team guard Kobe Bryant. That's what heart can do.

When skill and heart meet, you have a player of Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Gary Payton proportions (although Gary gained more skill over the years). Dangerous players. Max players.

When skill and heart dance alone, you have players that are pieces to a larger puzzle, but are likely to fail in lead roles.

See Allan Houston, ironically Lewis' idol.

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