Tag: Washington Wizards (Page 4 of 11)

      Miami making a late bid for Carlos Boozer?

      February 18, 2010 /

      ESPN’s Ric Bucher tweeted this 15 minutes ago:

      This is ESPN Rumor Central fodder for now but too tantalizing not to mention: 11th-hour talks are on that would send Boozer to Miami.

      Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski followed up with this:

      Utah and Miami have recruited Wiz to be 3rd team in Boozer talks. Wash would get cap relief out of it. Beasley not involved, source says.

      Michael Beasley wouldn’t seem like a good fit with Jerry Sloan, so it makes sense that Wojnarowski is saying that he’s not involved. But who would the Jazz get in this deal? Udonis Haslem? Jermaine O’Neal? Josh Howard? Al Thornton? Mike Miller?

      I’ve always thought that Miller was destined to play in Utah, but would he be worth giving up Boozer and the team’s shot at a playoff run this year? Maybe the Jazz would go for Miller and one of the Heat’s first round picks.

      Wojnarowski says that Washington will get salary cap relief out of it, but they only have one bad contract (Gilbert Arenas) on the books for next season, so he must be talking about relief this season. How about this trade which would send Miller and Dorrell Wright (and one of Miami’s first round picks) to Utah, Udonis Haslem to Washington (trimming $2.8 million from this year’s payroll) and Boozer to Miami?


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      Cavs land Jamison in three-team trade

      February 17, 2010 /

      Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports that the Cleveland Cavaliers have swung a three-team trade for Antawn Jamison.

      Cavs get Jamison and Telfair, Clippers get Drew Gooden and Wash gets Illgauskas, Al Thornton and Brian Skinner and Cavs 1st round pick.

      So the Cavs essentially landed Jamison at the cost of Ilgauskas, taking on Telfair’s contract ($2.7 million next season), and their first round pick, which will be very late in the first round. This is an even sweeter deal than the Hickson/Z-for-Jamison swap that has been rumored for weeks. The proposed Amare Stoudemire deal with the Suns either 1) fell through because the Suns wouldn’t pull the trigger quickly enough, or 2) the Wizards willingness to take a pick instead of Hickson convinced the Cavs to trade for Jamison instead. Either way, the Cavs got a good player in the deal. He’s 33 and has a bad contract (2 yrs, $28.4 million), but he’s playing at a high level (21-9, 45% shooting) and gives the Cavs the “stretch 4” they’ve been coveting for months. He’ll be a nice matchup for both Rashard Lewis and Kevin Garnett because he’s comfortable playing defense on the perimeter.

      The Suns were holding out for a better offer, but now the only suitor left standing appears to be the Heat. It’s going to be interesting to see if Stoudemire is moved before the deadline tomorrow. The team has reportedly told Stoudemire to suit up to play tonight, so no deal is imminent.

      The Clippers will save $5.5 million on their 2010-11 payroll, so they’ll project to have more than $16 million* in cap space this summer (or enough to sign a big-name free agent). They are now legit threats to sign a star like Joe Johnson, who would look very nice in a lineup of Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s a savvy move by GM Mike Dunleavy.

      And finally, the Wizards will trim $10.6 million from next year’s payroll, giving the team around $9 million* in cap space (with Gilbert Arenas’s deal still on the books). They also get Al Thornton, who has struggled thus far in his career. While he did average almost 17 points last season, his PER has never risen above 13.00, which means he’s not a very efficient player. GM Ernie Grunfeld continues to make perplexing trades. He has moved Caron Butler and Jamison and all he has to show for it are a couple of borderline starters (Josh Howard and Thornton), a late first round draft pick and some cap space.

      * assuming a salary cap of $50 million

      Update: Brian Skinner is not a part of the deal, according to Ric Bucher.


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      Heat also interested in Jamison?

      February 15, 2010 /

      Yes, according to the Washington Post‘s Wizards insider Michael Lee…

      I’ve been told that the Cavaliers aren’t the only team interested in Jamison. Miami has also expressed interest of late, according to a league source.

      When I played basketball for Bo Ryan at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, there was a player there who always was scrunching up his face when he was upset. Bo would ask him why he looked like he just ate a sour pickle. Why did I just tell you that? Well, when I heard this rumor, I made the “pickle face.”

      Even with Dwyane Wade’s player option on the books, the Heat will have $20 million in cap space this summer. Without it, they’ll have $37 million to spend. Why in the world would they invest almost $29 million over the next two years in a 33-year-old power forward?

      If a potential deal included Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook, the net increase in payroll would be around $6.3 million, effectively reducing the Heat’s cap space to around $31 million, which would theoretically be enough to re-sign Wade and another superstar free agent. The Heat would then build around Wade, Jamison and the superstar in question (LeBron, Bosh, Stoudemire). Under these circumstances, it would seem that the Heat would simply rather have Jamison than Beasley, thinking that Jamison at 35 would still be better than Beasley at 23.

      I’m not so sure about that.


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      Mavs, Wizards agree to Butler-Howard swap

      February 13, 2010 /

      Caron Butler is headed to Dallas, per ESPN…

      The teams agreed on the principal pieces Friday: Butler, Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas for Josh Howard and Drew Gooden. Mavericks reserves Quinton Ross and James Singleton were added to the deal Saturday and are also Washington-bound, with Dallas due to receive cash considerations in addition to the three players.

      I wrote about this deal yesterday.

      To me, if the Wizards are rebuilding, why trade Butler for Howard? He’s 29 — the same age as Butler — and hasn’t been the player this year as he has in years past. He has a team option for next season, so presumably they’d let him walk, because if you can’t build around Butler then you certainly can’t build around Howard.

      The right way to start a rebuilding process is to get some good young talent or first round draft picks when trading away stars. Otherwise, it’s just a salary dump. This deal might be appealing to the Wizards because they can try to sell their season ticket holders on the fact that, talent-wise, the trade was pretty even. But really, they’re just treading water, if that.

      From a talent stanpdoint, this looks like a great trade for the Mavs. Butler is a significant upgrade over Howard, who has struggled this season. Haywood also gives the Mavs a defensive center who can give Dallas some toughness inside now that Erick Dampier is dealing with some soreness in his knee. Butler’s salary for next season ($10.6 M) is pretty reasonable given what he brings to the table.

      On the flip side, Wizards’ GM Ernie Grunfeld continues to perplex me. When he was running the Bucks, he was the mastermind behind the disastrous Ray Allen-for-Gary Payton swap, and in the last two years, he signed Gilbert Arenas to an outlandish contract (for a guy coming off of knee surgery) and now, in an effort to “rebuild,” he’s trading away a very good 29-year-old small forward for a decent 29-year-old small forward.

      The trade does bring salary cap relief but that’s about it. Butler and Stevenson were due to make $14.6 million combined next season, and the Wizards are potentially going to take on the $1.1 million still owed to Quinton Ross if he exercises his player option for next year. So, by trimming a net of $13.5 million from their 2010-11 payroll, the Wizards will have about $10 million in cap space this summer, assuming they don’t exercise the team option on Howard’s contract.

      In other words, this is a salary dump, plain and simple. I’d be shocked if this trade isn’t a precursor to an Antawn Jamison in the next few days. What’s the point of trading Butler if you aren’t going to move Jamison too?


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      Butler-Howard swap in the works?

      February 12, 2010 /

      ESPN is reporting that there is new life to the Dallas/Washington trade that would be centered around Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Josh Howard.

      Talks between the teams had stalled in the past week, partly because of Washington’s insistence that the Mavericks take guard DeShawn Stevenson in any Butler deal, but the potential for acquiring two front-line players — since Butler and Haywood would immediately become key rotation players for the Mavs — has renewed Dallas’ interest.

      Sources told ESPN.com that the teams’ negotiations only turned more serious Friday on a deal that would send Josh Howard, Drew Gooden and some smaller cap-friendly contracts to Washington for Butler, Haywood and Stevenson.

      Well, color me confused. Earlier, we discussed the possibility of the Wizards sending Butler and Antawn Jamison to the Celtics for Ray Allen and his expiring contract, and now this rumor resurfaces.

      To me, if the Wizards are rebuilding, why trade Butler for Howard? He’s 29 — the same age as Butler — and hasn’t been the player this year as he has in years past. He has a team option for next season, so presumably they’d let him walk, because if you can’t build around Butler then you certainly can’t build around Howard.

      The right way to start a rebuilding process is to get some good young talent or first round draft picks when trading away stars. Otherwise, it’s just a salary dump. This deal might be appealing to the Wizards because they can try to sell their season ticket holders on the fact that, talent-wise, the trade was pretty even. But really, they’re just treading water, if that.

      Like I said, color me confused.


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