Hornets Trade Okafor, Ariza to Wizards for Rashard Lewis

[Rudi]

NBA source tells me Emeka Okafor and Trevor Arizona have been traded to the Washington Wizards for Rashard Lewis and the #46 pick

Rashard Lewis' $23.8 mil dollar contract will/can be bought out for 13.7 mil before July 1st. Hornets will save about $30 mil, good trade.

Source: Twitter.com

[ralaw]

Further proof that Washington has no clue on what they are doing.

[JeremyHight]

NBA source tells me Emeka Okafor and Trevor Arizona have been traded to the Washington Wizards for Rashard Lewis and the #46 pick

He's the Joe Montana of basketball

[FedEx227]

Further proof that Washington has no clue on what they are doing.

Yes and no. Depends what they are trying to do. They didn't save money but they probably got themselves mediocre enough to get a 7th or 8th seed. The actual worth of that is another discussion.

[ralaw]

The issue is that the Wizards are trading away a bad contract that was due to expire for 2 bad long term contracts. I could understand it if they were getting impact type players, but they're bringing in 2 mediocre non-impact type role players that play the same position as the young guys they should be trying to develop. I doubt this move makes the Wizards a 7-8 seed in the east. If your goal is to be a 7-8th seed in the east than you aren't doing it right.

[Glenbino]

Yes and no. Depends what they are trying to do. They didn't save money but they probably got themselves mediocre enough to get a 7th or 8th seed. The actual worth of that is another discussion.

That's probably the worst place to be in the NBA these days though. They have no chance of getting out of the first round as long as Miami and Chicago have their rosters intact and no real chance to build the team through the draft or free agency since they're out of the lottery and paying big money to fringe above average guys like Ariza and Okafor and then the albatross contact they traded for in Nene.

That said, I still don't see Washington as one of the best 8 teams in the East even after this trade. But it was still a terrible deal on their part. They need to look at other small and mid sized markets that have had success and how they've done it.

Trading for washed up big men making upwards of $12 mil per usually isn't part of the equation.

[FedEx227]

If you know me I've always been a huge opponent of the "just make the playoffs" mantra some teams in the NBA have. If you aren't a top 4 seed there's a good chance you aren't going to win anything profound. Now if you're building a team and you get into the tail end of the playoffs, that's fine. A team like Cleveland will probably be expected to be there and that's fine.

To actually go out of your way and pay for it is a different story. Charlotte did this a few years ago under Larry Brown and yeah, they made the playoffs got stomped, were expensive and ended up having to shed salary and turned into one of the worst teams in the league.

[ZoneBlitz]

Charlotte did this a few years ago under Larry Brown and yeah, they made the playoffs got stomped, were expensive and ended up having to shed salary and turned into the worst team in the history of the league.

Fixed.

[FedEx227]

Yes, I keep forgetting that. Worst, EVER.

[KNUBB]

[KNUBB]

THAT'S MY GM!!!!!

[A Tasty Burgerr]

In the defense of the Wizards both Ariza and Okafor are only signed for one more year than Shard, so the only long term impact of the trade is that they won't be in contention for a max contract player next offseason.

Realistically the Wizards aren't going to pull a huge free agent anyways, and in their minds looking to the few years the number one priority will likely be retaining John Wall, and Ariza and Okafor will both be long off the books by the time an extension kicks in.

In the mean time they have the #3 pick which they are probably praying will be Beal, in their minds a franchise point guard, a top 10 center in the league. Its a small sample size but after they traded for Nene they won 7 of the 11 games he played for them including the last 6 in a row. After 4 awful seasons you can't blame them for wanting some sort of step forward.

They probably (possibly) aren't delusional and realize they aren't going to contend for a title, but neither are 25 other teams. For teams that have been in the dumps its the sad truth that in most cases its more or less impossible to contend without luck in the draft. The Bulls got lucky they won the lotto the year it was Rose's turn, the Wizards weren't as lucky with Wall.

I'm getting off topic but I will defend mid/small-market teams making trades and signings that improve their team from mediocre to less mediocre so long as it doesn't completely fuck up their cap figure for the foreseeable future, like say, signing 30 year old mediocre players to 5 year deals like Salmons or Drew Gooden. But in this case I don't think it hurts the franchise in the slightest.

[Argath]

Great fucking deal if you ask me

You trade arguably the most overpaid player in the history of the league who has been injured every year he's been in washington for two guys entering their prime (I use this term loosely only because they're both entering their 7th year in the league) who will come in and make an immediate impact. The team needs some sort of veteran leadership and these guys are going to bring it better than rashard ever could. Besides, Ariza's contract is not that big at all (Less that $7 mill a year) and the wizards still have their amnesty clause which they could use for either Blatche or Okafor. Let's also not forget that there isn't a single decent all around 3 on the Wizards roster right now and Ariza brings both a decent shot with great defense which will be vital when playing teams in the East. I'm also not really understanding the hating on NeNe, he's always been one of the more consistent centers in the league, a very rare find now a days and is a 20 times step up from the retarded JaVale McGee. Once these players play out their contracts, Singleton, Vesely, Seraphin and Booker should be ready to finally step up and assume a bigger role. These players are no where near ready if you ask me.

You all are also forgetting the wizards are in a frantic win now mode because they are afraid of losing wall. His rookie contract only has a few years left and there's nothing enticing wall to come back. No Wall hasn't taken the Wizards to the playoffs but before we start comparing him to Rose let's not forget the situation he stepped into vs Rose. To say Wall's ceiling isn't as high as Rose is beyond ignorant. The guy is a phenomenal athlete who, with the right coaching, has the potential to battle for the top PG spot in the league. He just needs the team around him to do so. In fact, other than scoring, Wall has Rose beat in every single category, and he was able to do so without a single consistent jump shooter on the wizards roster any year he's been there. You can argue Nick Young but the man was as inconsistent as you could get and could only score with the ball in his hands the whole possession, same with Blatche. I love how under rated Wall is apparently just for playing for the Wizards. If he were on any playoff team (Hawks, Lakers, Knicks, Heat etc) I guarantee he would be in considered a top10, if not top5 PG in the league. It's a team sport people and Wall plays the position which is most reliant on the play of his team.

Why the fuck would the Wizards need to save money now anyways? To sign Gerald Wallace? Pffffffttt, please. There's nobody in free agency this year and they're no where near in contention for dwight next year.

As a Wizards fan, the only thing I'm a little upset about with this trade is why the fuck was the #10 pick not included? The whole post season NO has been saying they'll give the #10 pick to any team who takes Okafor and Ariza's contract. Instead we give up a second (which I doubt we would have gotten anyone decent anyways). Still, live up to your word Monty and give up the pick. Rumors around Washington are that the Wizards want to acquire another first in this years draft and are willing to part with Jordan Crawford and Andray Blatche. I could see a team such as Boston doing this with one of their picks just in case Bass doesn't decide to resign in Boston or he wants more money than Boston is willing to give.

[Glenbino]

I don't understand how this deal entices Wall to re-sign. If these guys are gone after two years anyway wouldn't he follow them right out of the door?

And I think with the new cap structure the ability to offer max contracts is going to be good enough to entice guys to go anywhere. Teams won't be able to hold onto 3 superstar guys anymore without one of them taking a big pay cut. If Wall shows some development next season then they would probably have their pick of a number of people next off-season.

This deal reminds me of when they tried to make the leap with Arenas/Butler/Jamison except with less talent.

[Argath]

IF this deal does happen to push them into the 8th seed for the playoffs, a lot easier convincing guys to resign than not making the playoffs at all. I truely think if they draft Brad Beal, they could potentially sneak into the 8th seed