That’s the rumor, according to the Chicago Sun-Times…
Rumors were circulating Sunday that the Washington Wizards, in an attempt to shake things up, are shopping swingman Caron Butler, with the Bulls and the Miami Heat being the likely trading partners.
From the Bulls, the Wizards reportedly would seek guard Kirk Hinrich to provide some stability. The rumors also had the expiring contracts of Jerome James and Mike James being included, although the contracts of Butler ($9.78 million) and Hinrich ($9.5 million) are close enough to do the deal straight up.
Once thought untouchable due to his skill level and affordable contract, the Wizards are actually thinking about trading the 29-year-old Butler away. Next season, he is set to make $10.6 million in the final year of his contract. That’s not bad for a guy who has proven that he can score like Butler has. (He posted back-to-back 20+ point seasons with Gilbert Arenas sidelined.)
While I like Kirk Hinrich’s defensive mentality and willingness to share the ball, a straight up trade would be a coup for the Bulls if they can retain enough cap space to sign a big-name free agent (Dwyane Wade?) next summer. Butler’s salary next season is $1.6 million more than Hinrich’s, so assuming a cap of $50 million in 2010-2011, that would trim the Bulls’ cap space from around $12.5 million to less than $11 million. Of course, these figures assume that John Salmons does not terminate the final year of his deal (~$5.8 million).
With a core of Rose, Butler, Deng and Noah, the Bulls would be a very attractive place for Wade to land. The post mentioned that the Heat are also interested in Butler, which is interesting considering the Butler-to-Chicago rumors.
