I got an e-mail over the weekend from blog reader Sam from Baltimore with a question on the Washington Wizards-Dallas Mavericks trade that went down Saturday night. In case you somehow missed it, you can read my story for CSNWashington.com on the trade here. But in a nutshell, the Wizards sent Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to the Western Conference's fourth-best team in exchange for Josh Howard and Stevenson's best friend, Drew Gooden, as well as Quinton Ross and James Singleton.
One of Sam's questions (and I invite any reader with questions to drop me a line at mbjones181@gmail.com, and I'll do my best to either get back to you via e-mail or address it on here) was, who of the four players acquired from the Mavericks will be on the Wizards' roster for the next couple years. He also asked, "Am I crazy for thinking we got the short end of the stick? We gave up the No. 5 pick for Foye and Miller, but couldn't swing a draft pick despite giving up Caron and Brendan?"
There's a very strong possibility that the only player on this roster in the future is Ross, and that's because he has a $1.15 million player option that he can pick up for next season. Everybody else has an expiring contract. Josh Howard actually has a team option on his contract, meaning the Wizards could agree to pay him $11.8 million for one more year. But considering that they were trying to rid themselves of the $10.6 million owed to Butler next season so they could have more money to spend this summer, it's unlikely that they would do so.
However, Howard and his fellow former Mavericks will use the next 32 games as an audition for the Wizards, but also for other teams. You never know, Howard could come in and impress management and coach Flip Saunders enough to make them hang onto him, but the Wizards aren't thinking about that right now. This deal was about improving Washington's financial situation so they don't have to pay as high a luxury tax bill this year, and also so they can go after key free agents this summer. Some fans were upset over the acquisition of Howard, who has character issues with disrespecting the National Anthem, street racing and admissions to smoking weed ranking among his black marks. But the Wizards didn't make this deal to find a new pillar to the franchise. Like I said, this was about saving money (roughly $2.5 million this year and about $15 million next year). It wasn't really about making a huge improvement in the record for this year. And it's not like things could get much worse.
Did the Wizards come up on the short end of the stick by not being able to get a draft pick in the mix? Possibly. But given Washington's situation -- their 17-33 record and the fact that it was no secret that they needed to blow this team up -- they didn't have as much leverage as they could have. I'm told they approached -- and continue to approach -- the trade deadline with somewhat of a checklist. They wanted/want to make deals that give them A) salary relief, B) young talent and or C) future picks. The Wizards would have viewed a deal that gave them all three as fantastic, a deal that gave them one of the two as great, and a deal that at least gave them salary relief as pretty good. Since they didn't really get any young talent in this trade, then this is a pretty good trade because in it they got a former All-Star in Howard and a player with starting experience in winning situations in Gooden, who also provides a low-post presence. And they get two players (Ross and Singleton) that they can evaluate.
The Wizards likely aren't done yet. They continue to have discussions about moving Antawn Jamison, which they definitely should do because there is absolutely no reason to make him suffer through a rebuilding process that won't be complete and transform Washington into an eliet team any time in the next two years that he has left on his deal. And the Wizards, I'm told, could either trade or agree to a buyout of Mike James, who they are paying more than $6 million to be a practice player. Teams have also inquired about some of Washington's young players. So there's a good chance that the Wizards can still do more to shave money off their luxury tax bill this year as well as create more cap room for this summer's free agency.
Stay tuned . . .
Saturday, February 13, 2010
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4 comments:
Hey Mike:
Good analysis. Who from the current roster do you think that they'll end up keeping?
Mike - here is my main question with this deal. In terms of money available, do the Wiz now have enough to acquire a top free agent next season? I understand that Lebron, Wade, etc may not want to play here, but I'm curious if this deal was enough to make those guys a financial option. Also, if they move Jamison and Arenas, could they be in position to add say Bosh and a Joe Johnson? Thanks!
We will look like an expansion team next year. It was time to make some roster moves, but before this team can move forward the ownership needs to be settled. What free agent would come here with that unsettled? Don't get me wrong I know that money talks! The best thing for all involved is for Ted Leonsis to get the team ASAP!
@Patrick: Right now, they only have Jamison, Blatche, Young and McGee that are on the current roster that have years left on their deal, but we will have to see if they make any more moves (say, trading away Jamison, which they are trying to do).
@Ben: The Wizards are positioning themselves to be able to go after a bigger-named free agent in the summer. That's not saying LeBron or Wade, but yes, possibly a Bosh or Johnson. If they are able to move Jamison, that's an extra $28 million over the next two years that will be freed up. The Wizards still have to wait until March 26 to see if they'll have Arenas and his contract on the books next year, but either way, they have some flexibility.
@Bletwayboy7: Because the Wizards are clearing off salary right now, and trying to unload more, this could be a quicker fix than you expect. This is purely speculative, but say Arenas IS here, then you get a Bosh or Johnson, and add a few more pieces. Suddenly you have a pretty decent core. And yes, money talks, also, if they have Arenas, I'd think they would be more attractive to free agents than if they didn't.
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