Wizards To Ship Butler, Haywood To Dallas
Caron Butler, courtesy NBA.com
Josh Howard, courtesy NBA.com
Trading Butler and Haywood is a huge slam of the reset button for a team struggling to find its footing amidst so much turmoil. The trade mostly eviscerates whatever was left of the nucleus that the Wizards featured for the past few seasons. As Dan Steinberg points out, this trade includes three regular starters from a Wizards team, that as recently as 2008, was in the playoffs. Lone remaining star Antawn Jamison, whose own ticket out the door is probably not far off, is really the last link that Washington has to those days. With everything that's happened in the last couple of years, though, 2008 couldn't feel further away.
It bears repeating: this, like so many other trades in the National Basketball Association, is more about finances than it is about anything basketball-related, at least for the Wizards. The move is a total salary dump -- Washington will slash nearly $15 million off their salary figure next season by dumping Butler and Haywood. The Wizards will also trim their luxury tax bill, as they are trading for less salary than they are giving up. Ross would be the only player the Wizards would receive in the deal that is signed to a contract past this year. ESPN's NBA Trade Machine has the exact numbers, should you be interested.
Haywood was considered a major trading chip, due to his relatively low cost for good production -- he's averaging nearly a double-double this season -- and his experience. It's somewhat surprising that both Butler and Haywood, each with very friendly contracts, would be packaged in a deal that didn't bring more financial relief. Wizards brass obviously thought that time to make a move was running out. (The trade deadline is February 18.)
People who watch the Wizards religiously seem less than pleased with the swap.
As for as the new guys, Howard has averaged 12.5 points per game this year in 31 games for the Mavericks, though he has only started nine times. Gooden was averaging about 9 points and 7 rebounds in a similar bench role for Dallas. Singleton and Ross are strictly end of the bench players. But look, getting attached to Howard, Gooden, or anyone the Wizards bring in over the next week for that matter probably isn't the best idea -- these guys are strictly here on a rental basis.
So yeah, the Wizards will probably be a worse basketball team after this trade. But, I don't know, man -- have you watched this team this year? It's not like with Butler and Haywood, they were going to make the playoffs. That fateful game of bourre on the team plane was simply the first step toward preparations for next season, and this trade is simply the first big part of that long, painful transition.