Seriously, $20 million for Darko?

Yesterday was the first full day that NBA teams could sign free agents, and it certainly seems like many teams just couldn't help themselves. The wild spending spree was almost like a wackier version of Brewster's Millions, only the top-tier free agents -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Dirk Nowitzki, etc. -- were not involved. Instead, these are some of the contract agreements and offers that were haphazardly thrown around:

• Joe Johnson: 6-year, $120 million offer from Atlanta
• Rudy Gay: 5-year, $82 million contract with Memphis
• John Salmons: 5-year, $39 million offer from Milwaukee
• Channing Frye: 5-year, $30 million deal with Phoenix
• Drew Gooden: 5-year, $32 million contract with Milwaukee
• Darko Milicic: 4-year, $20 million deal with Minnesota
• Mike Miller: 5-year, $30 million offer from Los Angeles Lakers
• Amir Johnson: 5-year, $34 million deal with Toronto

Just about every single one of those contracts is a head-scratcher. And, again, that was just the first day of free agency. Who's going to cash in today? Shelden Williams, Brian Scalabrine, Tony Battie, Aaron Gray, Oleksiy Pecherov, Luther Head, or Adam Morrison? Who knows, but don't be surprised if it happens.

Cavs blow out Arenas-less Wizards

The shorthanded Wizards (11-22), playing without the suspended Gilbert Arenas (who is going to be gone for a while) and Mike Miller (who may return Friday from a calf injury), couldn't slow down the now 28-9 Cavaliers, who took care of business at home in a comfortable 121-98 win. The performance was predictable considering this was the second game of a back-to-back on the road for the Wizards -- not to mention that they were without their best player. But unfortunately, they're going to have to adjust to playing without Arenas once again.

Offensively, the Wizards were decent, shooting 44 percent from the field and hitting eight of 16 three-pointers. But strong perimeter shooting was the only thing keeping the Wizards in the game, because they had no answer for the Cavs on defense. Cleveland shot over 57 percent from the field, made 11 of 22 threes, got to the free throw line 10 more times (making 24 of 30), outrebounded the Wizards by 16 (a 44-28 advantage), and dished out 13 more assists. Also, no Wizard posted a positive +/- number -- not even Dominic McGuire in his six garbage minutes at the end of the game.

As for individual numbers, only two Wizards were particularly noteworthy. First, Antawn Jamison led the team with 26 points and did his best to try to rally the troops in the third quarter. But because of Cleveland's much bigger frontcourt, he only grabbed two rebounds. And second, Randy Foye scored 18 points in 29 minutes off the bench. Foye mainly hit jumpers but was still a very solid 8-12 from the field. That was about it. Oh, and Earl Boykins had 10 points and six assists, so that's something worth mentioning.

Also, for the second straight night, Caron Butler didn't do a whole lot. Sure, he was matched up against LeBron James, but you'd think that with Arenas out, he'd try to assert himself more on the offensive end. Instead, Butler took only nine shots, making three of them, and scored just eight points. He also had four rebounds, three assists, and a steal, but that was it. Memo to Butler: With Arenas out, you're going to have to pick things up. Where's Tough Juice when you need him?

Again, this game's result wasn't surprising. How many teams could deal with the Arenas controversy and still be able to hang with the Cavs, one of the NBA's best, on the road? The Wizards played hard; they were just overmatched from the beginning.

Wizards lose to Heat; Miller injured

After starting out Wednesday night's game against the Miami Heat the exact opposite way they began the previous night against the Cavs -- getting behind early and playing horribly instead of jumping out to a huge lead -- the Wizards looked like they'd pull out a win this time even though they had trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half. But with the game tied at 89 and less than one minute to go, DeShawn Stevenson stepped to the free throw line with the chance to put the Wizards ahead -- and bricked two free throws. Stevenson was then punished for his misses when Dwyane Wade hit a 21-foot jumper right in his face that put the Heat up for good. Gilbert Arenas had a couple of chances to tie or get another bucket (described in more detail here by Michael Lee) but couldn't, and the Wizards fell 93-89.

For the second straight night, Arenas shot poorly from the field (7-18 on Tuesday, 9-27 last night) but did lead the Wizards with 32 points. In 37 minutes, he got to the free-throw line often -- a game-high 15 times -- and made 12 of them, but he hit only two of eight three-pointers, grabbed only one rebound, and had as many assists as turnovers (three). The next highest scorer for Washington was Brendan Haywood with 16 points, followed by Caron Butler with 13, Andray Blatche with 10, and Mike Miller with eight. Randy Foye chipped in six points.

Things haven't gone the Wizards' way the last two nights, and now they will lose Mike Miller for at least a week after he sprained his left shoulder in the third quarter. Even though Miller hasn't looked for his offense much, he's been a welcome addition and a good all-around player, grabbing rebounds and moving the ball well on offense.

But Miller should eventually return and be just fine. However, there does appear to be another issue: the chemistry (or lack thereof) between Arenas and Butler. Michael Lee explains:

Until Miller and Jamison return, the Wizards face a more daunting task because Arenas and Butler don't appear to be on the same page offensively. Butler had 13 points and 10 rebounds but it was really a subpar performance that frustrated him and Arenas.

After the game, Butler said, "I know my role, it's just obviously you just adapting to the new situation and having guys back and just got to stay aggressive and always be aware, stay aggressive, don't get caught watching the show."

Arenas . . . said, "I mean, he has to shoot the open shot. You know, Caron's a rhythm player, so in the old system he had enough time to get into his 'mojo' and shoot those shots. In this system, you have to get a lot of catch and shoots, so the first initial shot he has he doesn't usually take it and then everything just closes up from there. He's just got to get used to catching and shooting."

Butler should adapt and, hopefully, start playing like the old Caron. But, whether it's the fact that he's only played in four games and appears uncomfortable in a new offense, is adjusting to the styles of some new teammates, or is still dealing with knee issues (or a combination of all three), Butler is averaging the fewest points per game (14.0) that he's scored while he's been with the Wizards. He's also taking fewer shots per game (13.3) and is shooting a lower percentage (39.6). It's also not helping that he has more turnovers (10) than assists (three).

The Wizards need Butler to step up his game, even more so now that Miller is out. It's worth noting that, right now, Blatche is second on the team in scoring with 16 points per game, followed by Butler, Haywood (12.0), Foye (11.6), and Miller (8.4).

The Wizards' next game is on Friday in Indiana against the Pacers (1-3).

Arenas and Blatche dominate as Wizards scorch Nets

After a rather mediocre performance (and a loss) on the road to the Hawks, the Wizards returned to Washington for their home opener against the New Jersey Nets. What followed was nothing less than an inspiring offensive assault: The Wizards scored 123 points and shot 61.5 percent from the field, including a staggering 64.3 percent (9-14) mark from three-point range.

Gilbert Arenas led the Wizards with 32 points, but Andray Blatche was right behind him, posting a career-high 30 points. On a night when just about everyone was shooting the ball efficiently, Arenas and Blatche were no different: Arenas put up those points on just 13 field goal attempts (9-13), including shooting 11-12 from the free-throw line, and Blatche knocked down an astounding 15 of 18 shots.

Randy Foye followed Blatche with 17 points, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson each had 10, and Mike Miller had nine.

So Arenas has looked more than solid so far, and Foye and Miller appear to be great pieces fitting in with their new teammates, but, to me, the story of the first three games has been the improved play of Andray Blatche. Yes, it's only been three games, but let's look at what Blatche has done: In each game, he's scored in double figures, shot at least 57 percent, and grabbed at least six rebounds. Of course he won't do that in every game, but Blatche looks like a completely different player. He looks comfortable on the floor, finally appears to be in shape, and is both knocking down open mid-range jumpers and scoring around the paint with an array of pivots and shot fakes. Blatche even has more assists than turnovers (still, just 4-3), which is at least worth noting considering he has more turnovers in his career (293) than assists (263).

Again, it's obviously too early to know if Blatche can keep this level of play going, but it is acceptable to look at his performance last night and wonder exactly how good he can be. According to Basketball-Reference.com, since 1986-1987 only 11 players have had games where they shot better than 83.0 percent on at least 18 field goal attempts while also recording six rebounds and two assists. Some of those players include Dominique Wilkins, Clyde Drexler, Carlos Boozer, Shaquille O'Neal, Rashard Lewis, Shawn Marion, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and Kevin McHale. That's certainly not a bad group of players to be associated with, although Willie Anderson and Loy Vaught also accomplished that feat within the same timeframe, so take that for what it's worth.

It'll be interesting to see how well Blatche plays when both Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison return to the Wizards' lineup. With the weapons the Wizards already seem to have, Blatche may just be the most intriguing piece.

Wizards fall to Hawks; Butler bruises knee

After a strong team effort in the season-opening win against the Mavericks, the Wizards jumped out to a 15-5 lead about five minutes into the first quarter against the Hawks. Caron Butler hit a three, Brendan Haywood dunked, Gilbert Arenas made a jumper, Fabricio Oberto hit a short jumper, Arenas knocked down a three, Mike Miller made a free throw, and Haywood dunked again. Arenas and Miller each had two assists, the Wizards were scoring at will and moving the ball around, and the Hawks were forced into taking jumpers on offense -- and they were missing. Sure, it was early, but the Wizards again looked solid.

Then, things turned south. The Hawks outscored the Wizards 24-9 to finish out the first quarter and led 29-24, and Atlanta never really looked back. Washington tried to close the gap, cutting the Hawks' lead to seven with about eight minutes left and again after a Gilbert Arenas three-pointer with 2:35 left in the game, but the Hawks were able to answer and prevent a comeback.

Overall, the Wizards didn't play horribly. They shot a higher percentage from the field (44.3% to 41.0%) and out-assisted the Hawks 19-18. But Atlanta outrebounded Washington 47-40, committed fewer turnovers (14-12), and shot more free throws (34-22). The Hawks also hit 31 of those 34 free throws (91.2%), which is outstanding. (For the record, Atlanta shot 73.7% from the free-throw line as a team last season, third-worst in the NBA. Funny how that works sometimes.)

More or less, the Wizards couldn't stop fouling on defense and were unable to get any kind of consistent offensive rhythm going, especially since they were already playing without Antawn Jamison -- and then Caron Butler after he suffered a bruised knee and didn't return after halftime. After an inspiring first game showcasing his all-around play, Arenas scored a game-high 23 points but failed to show those same play-making skills, turning the ball over seven times while dishing out just four assists. After Arenas, Haywood had 19 points, Andray Blatche scored 13, Randy Foye had nine, and Miller and JaVale McGee each had seven.

So was this just one of those tough games where the Wizards couldn't get things together, or is this a sign of things to come? Probably the former more so than the latter -- but we'll get the chance to find out a little more when the Wizards face the Nets tonight in their home opener.

Other game notes:

- After Miller got in early foul trouble, DeShawn Stevenson entered the game and couldn't stay out of foul trouble either. He took one shot -- and made it -- but he only played 11 minutes and still doesn't look quite right. (And if you're curious, yes, he did the I-can't-feel-my-face thing after making that shot. At this point, it's not even annoying to me -- it's just hilarious.)

- After three quick fouls sent Stevenson to the bench, Nick Young got on the floor after not playing at all against Dallas. Unfortunately, Young played horribly, missing all eight of his shots (six jumpers and two layups) and failing to get to the free-throw line. In 13 minutes, Young failed to record an assist and grabbed just one rebound. It's definitely too early to write him off or suggest that he won't get a ton of playing time, especially with the injury to Butler, but it's hard to figure out exactly what Young's role on this team is going to be.

- Why doesn't Mike Miller shoot the ball more? In 33 minutes, he took only five shots, hitting three of them. He had a strong all-around game -- 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals -- but how does Young take three more shots in 20 fewer minutes played? Shoot the ball, Mike. You're good at it.

- Blatche had a decent game (13 points, 6 rebounds, one assist, one block) following his superb performance in Dallas. He shot efficiently (5-7) and got to the free-throw line five times. Oddly enough, he had a team-worst +/- of -17 in 34 minutes. Still, I like the new-and-improved Blatche who hustles and seems to have his head on straight. Hopefully he keeps it up.

- Foye regressed a bit, shooting just 3-12 from the field. Still, he hit a three-pointer, dished out a team-high six assists, and had two rebounds.

- McGee gave the Wizards a little spark in his 10 minutes in the second half. He threw down a couple of dunks and blocked two shots.

Grunfeld interview on the Junkies

Ernie Grunfeld, general manager and president of basketball operations for the Wizards, was interviewed by The Junkies this morning on WJFK (106.7 FM). Grunfeld offered some thoughtful and honest answers on the NBA Draft, the trade for Mike Miller and Randy Foye, and the Wizards' (possible) approach in free agency. Randy Foye was interviewed earlier on the show, but it wasn't as interesting.

Here's the interview:

JP: "We just had Randy [Foye] on the show, really nice guy, amazing story actually, to come out of Newark, and we were kinda debating amongst ourselves on the show. Eric, you can talk about your opinion."

EB: "Well here's the thing, Ernie, Cakes and I are the two biggest Wizards fans here, we're the ones that are diehard, we're the ones that bleed, I guess, blue and gold, whatever the team's colors are. When you made the trade, I personally didn't love it, because I felt like...at five, if I looked back at the draft in the last 10 years, the fifth pick specifically hasn't been that great, but there's always been one or two guys picked after five that has become a multiple all-star. And I think it's up to your scouting department to find that diamond in the rough. And I feel like, as a fan, we punted on the opportunity to grab a superstar. So that was my criticism of the move."

Grunfeld: "Well, you're just assuming that all of a sudden we're gonna pick out, out of the 100 players, that superstar."

EB: "Yeah, you gotta find him. It's on your scouting department to find that nugget, right?"

Grunfeld: "Look, that's what's great about the NBA Draft. It creates a lot of excitement; there's a lot of conversations in it, and a lot of things go on. You know, it was my opinion that we were much better suited this time, because we have a very solid core. We're getting a lot of players back who were injured last year, and we have an opportunity to add two players to our roster that are going to be immediate-help players. I mean, Randy Foye is only 25 years old; he's been in the league three years. He was the seventh pick a few years ago, but he's already averaged 16.5 points and five assists a game. Now that number five pick may do that sometime down the road. I guarantee you no number five pick would have done that in the next couple of years for sure -- and maybe he might do that [at some point], but we have a proven commodity in Randy. And of course in Mike Miller, we get a six-foot-eight player who plays multiple positions, as one of the best three-point shooters of all time. He has a 40-percent career three-point percentage -- who is also a proven player. They both play multiple positions. So, with the addition of those two players, it's going to help us tremendously, and it's going to help us more than any player at the number five spot. Now, your point is well taken; in three-four years, a player at the fifth spot could turn out to be a solid player, but there's no guarantee. And this way, we get guaranteed, two very good basketball players."

Lurch: "Now be honest Ernie, did you think that Rubio would have slipped to five?"

Grunfeld: "You know, no I don't know where he would have been. I thought he would have gone six, seven, four, five -- you know, you never really know. But as I've said before, if it was Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Harden -- we liked all those players. But the only one I would have been upset if he slipped was Blake Griffin. And otherwise we would have made this trade for any of those players that were available there."

Lurch: "OK, what if Minnesota said, you know what, we don't want the fifth pick, we're going to keep Randy and Mike. Can you tell us who you targeted there at five?"

Grunfeld: "Well, like I said, we had a list of our players; we didn't know who was gonna be there. We liked all those players -- we liked Harden, we liked Tyreke Evans, we liked Rubio, and Curry is also a good player. So we felt like if we kept the pick we were going to get a good player, but it was going to be a player that we really had to wait on several years to come in and make an impact because all those players are 18, 19 years old."

EB: "Right, and to be fair to Ernie, it's been almost unanimous around the league; all the experts and everybody like the move. I'm the only idiot that wanted to take a flier and try to pick a superstar. But I will say this, Ernie, I was with you when the notion of picking up Gilbert's contract came up and I've always actually been the one guy that said...let's keep the core guys intact because I remember when we were at the all-star break a couple years ago, and guess who was coaching the all-star team for the best record in the Eastern Conference when all our guys were healthy...The players are the ones that got us there, and those players, when healthy, are still here, and I like the fact that you didn't break up the core that you recognized that injuries have really been the one thing that's kept this team from reaching their potential. How is Gilbert doing, and do you still feel that way?"

Grunfeld: "I still feel that way. Obviously at the time we signed Gilbert, we had to make a decision. People think that we could have used that money in some other way, and we really couldn't have, cause once we kept Antawn Jamison, we were right at the salary cap. And with our rules, you can exceed the salary cap to sign your own player, but we wouldn't have been able to go out and get another player of that magnitude and put him on our roster. So, obviously, the injuries were a tough situation, but I think once we get everybody together with Gilbert, Caron, Antawn -- having three all-stars -- our younger players are developing, they're getting better. Last year was very, very difficult, but the silver lining is that some of those young players got a lot of experience, a lot of playing time, and hopefully that'll pay benefits this year. Also, Brendan Haywood is back for us, and I don't think people give Brendan enough credit for how his game has improved. So we feel like we have one of the deepest rosters now in the Eastern Conference, and we feel we can compete with anybody if we can put everybody out there at the same time."

Cakes: "And Brendan's also in a contract year, I believe, which is big!"

Grunfeld: "Brendan is in a contract year; he's going into the last year of his deal, so that's gonna be motivation itself. But Brendan's a real professional, he's a very hard worker, and he's in great shape. You asked about how Gilbert is doing, and Gilbert has been scrimmaging everyday. He looks terrific; his weight is great. And he's real motivated, cause nobody's more frustrated than Gilbert about his injury situation because he's such a competitive guy and he loves to play. He's an absolute gym rat. So he can't wait to get back out there."

EB: "So, Ernie, are you telling me then that, in all likelihood, the roster is basically set?...You don't have enough depth with your big men."

Grunfeld: "...If you look at our roster, we're very diverse. We have a lot of players that can play multiple positions. At the five spot we have Brendan, we have Andray Blatche, and we have JaVale McGee. So we have three players, and what I like to do is have at least three players for every position, and we have that. We have three point guards with Gilbert, Randy, and Javaris Crittenton. We have three guys who can play the two with Nick Young, Mike Miller, Randy Foye can play there, as can Caron. At the three spot, we have Caron and Dominic McGuire -- Mike Miller could also play there. At the power forward position, we have Antawn, Andray, and Dominic could play there, and then the three centers. Now we'll also be looking for another maybe backup, another big body, someone that could come in occasionally and give us six to eight minutes. But you can only play five guys at a time, and most coaches only play eight or nine players anyway, so we feel we're a pretty deep team, and we have a lot of players that play multiple positions. So we'll have all positions covered. Obviously, I'm like you, I'd like to have five all-stars at every position. But that's very hard to do."

Lurch: "What do you envision...Randy's role as on opening night? Do you envision him as the starting point guard and moving Gilbert to the two, or vice versa, or bringing Randy off the bench?"

Grunfeld: "Well, Gilbert is our point guard -- we're not gonna move him to the two. He's gonna be running our team, and with the way Flip runs [the offense], the point guard has the ball a lot and runs a lot of pick-and-rolls, so I think you'll see Gilbert do an outstanding job at that spot. And as far as Randy's position is concerned, it's going to be determined in training camp. It's going to be a very competitive situation. The good thing about Randy is he can play both spots, you know, he's six-foot-four, and he can play the two, he can play the backup one. And that's gonna be up to Flip and really the players themselves to see which combinations fit best together and how we can be most effective. But whether he starts or comes off the bench, he's gonna get a lot of minutes for us. And he's gonna be a big contributor."

Say what you will about Grunfeld, but at least he's been consistent in wanting to build around the big three -- hopefully it works out.

Also, it's worth noting that Grunfeld didn't mention DeShawn Stevenson and Mike James during the interview, so those two could be out the door in the near future.

Examining the Wizards-T'Wolves trade

Because I can't watch the NBA Draft tomorrow night, I was going to write a little something speculating what the Wizards could do with the No. 5 pick. Would the Wizards take James Harden, Jordan Hill, or Stephen Curry? Or maybe they would entertain trade offers for the pick on draft night, etc. I was even going to reference Kevin Broom's post over at The Secret Weapon, which broke down the Wizards' chances of getting a solid player with the fifth choice.

Broom's take:

This year’s draft does not appear to have an elite-level talent available at number 5. It doesn’t appear likely that the Wiz will end up with someone who impacts the game like Garnett or Barkley or Wade. But, the Wizards could still end up with a player like Mitch Richmond (Harden?), Steve Smith (Tyreke Evans?), or Raymond Felton (Rubio?). Or maybe it’s someone like Kevin Love or Jason Richardson.

Point is, the fifth is likely to provide a player who will help the team. There’s basically a one-in-three chance they’ll get a future All-Star; a one-in-six chance they’ll land a future All-NBA’er. Only one-in-ten qualify as abject busts over the past 30 years (Bender, Ray and Skita). All this is to say the Wizards are likely to improve themselves, even if they can’t find a trade they like, and end up using the pick on the best available player.

Apparently the Wizards didn't feel they'd be able to pick one of those players, and, as I'm sure you know by now, the Wizards have traded the pick, Darius Songaila, Etan Thomas, and Oleksiy Pecherov to the T'Wolves for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. I really didn't see the move coming, particularly because I thought the Wizards would at least wait until Thursday. Well, I was wrong.

Maybe the Wizards didn't think Harden or Curry would still be on the board, or maybe they didn't feel like rolling the dice at all in this apparently thin draft. Either way, Miller and Foye are Wizards.

It's worth mentioning that the Wizards still have their second round pick -- the 32nd overall choice -- but that's obviously not as exciting as a first-rounder.

Anyway, I've been deliberately avoiding other reviews of the trade all day to make sure not to recycle other writers' and bloggers' thoughts. Sure, my own opinions might not be all that different, but this post will still be original.

Now, back to the trade: I like it. I don't love it or think it's the greatest trade of all time, but it makes sense. Although Ernie Grunfeld may pull the trigger on another trade in the next few days, the Wizards' current rotation is a combination of the following:

Starters:
PG Gilbert Arenas
SG Randy Foye
SF Caron Butler
PF Antawn Jamison
C Brendan Haywood

Bench:
G/F Mike Miller
G/F Dominic McGuire
F/C Andray Blatche
G Nick Young
F/C JaVale McGee
G Javaris Crittenton
G DeShawn Stevenson
G Mike James

That's 13 players, so it appears that one or two of those guys could be on the way out in a possible trade -- possibly James because of his expiring $6.5 million contract. Moving Stevenson may be difficult because of 1) his back injury and 2) he still has two years and about $8 million left on his contract.

Also, Foye might not start at the two; Miller or McGuire could also slide into the starting rotation at that spot.

One more thing: Let's take a look at the contracts of all five players involved in the deal (all $ is in millions):

Mike Miller: 2009-2010 ($9.75)
Randy Foye: 2009-2010 ($3.57), 2010-2011 ($4.79 qualifying offer)

Darius Songaila: 2009-2010 ($4.52), 2010-2011 ($4.81 player option)
Etan Thomas: 2009-2010 ($7.35)
Oleksiy Pecherov: 2009-2010 ($1.54), 2010-2011 ($2.38 team option), 2011-2012 ($3.37 qualifying offer)

Money isn't the driving force in this trade. Next season, both teams will pay over $13 million each for these players -- of course, that doesn't factor in the cost of the No. 5 pick for the T'Wolves. Both Miller and Foye could be gone in 2010 for the Wizards, while Thomas will be gone for the T'Wolves. Songaila will surely exercise his option, and Minnesota will likely decline Pecherov's option. But again, this trade doesn't seem to be about money, unless the Wizards really wanted to clear Songaila's 2010 salary to free up some space to possibly re-sign Haywood and/or McGuire.

Strengths of the trade:

• Mike Miller's shooting. Miller had the worst season of his career last year, scoring 9.9 points per game. But he did average 6.6 rebounds (close to his career high) and 4.5 assists (career high). Unfortunately, Miller shot his worst percentage from three-point range (37.8 percent) since 2003-2004. But for his career he's a 40.1 percent three-point shooter, so it could have just been a bad season. Still, the Wizards' best three-point shooter last season was Mike James (36.7 percent) and they shot 33 percent as a team, so Miller is an upgrade in that department. Playing alongside Arenas, Butler, and Jamison should leave Miller with more open shots than in Minnesota, so he could very well thrive in Washinton next season. He's not a good defensive player, though, which means he should fit right in with this group.


• Guard depth. Adding Miller and Foye should provide significant depth at the guard position in case injuries strike the Wizards again. When healthy himself, Foye can play the one and the two, while Miller can fill in at shooting guard and small forward. Miller has played in at least 70 games in five straight seasons, while Foye seemed to recover nicely by playing in 70 games last season after missing most of the 2007-2008 season with a hip injury.


• Mike James's contract. The Wizards sent Etan Thomas and his expiring contract away in the deal, but the Wizards still have James's expiring contract. The Wizards could do one of three things: 1) use James's contract now in another possible trade for a veteran frontcourt presence; 2) keep James for a while and then trade him during the season; or 3) hold on to him for the whole season, allowing his salary to come off the books afterwards. Combined with Miller's and Foye's potential departures, that's nearly $20 million in possible savings.

Weaknesses of the trade:

• Loss of Songaila. Say what you will about Darius Songaila, but I respect how hard he played in Washington. He shot a career-best 53.2 percent from the field last season while playing in just under 20 minutes per game. He isn't flashy and is out of position when forced to play center, but Songaila was certainly a consistent contributor for the Wizards off of the bench last season. Barring a trade, though, his departure does free up minutes for Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee.


• Was a better trade out there? There have been so many rumors floating around that it's hard to know exactly what the Wizards could have traded for with a similar package. Some examples: Tracy McGrady and Carl Landry from the Rockets; Vince Carter from the Nets; Shaquille O'Neal (?) or maybe Amar'e Stoudemire from the Suns; Larry Hughes from the Knicks; Ray Allen from the Celtics; Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, and Jerryd Bayless/Sergio Rodriguez from the Blazers; etc. -- that's a lot of possibilities to consider. No one knows exactly what else may have been on the table, but it's possible that a better trade could have been pursued.


• Not a defensive upgrade. Another trade may be on the way soon, but right now, the Wizards are still a pretty bad defensive team. Miller and Foye won't change that. Then again, when a team is built around three star players who don't play much defense, it's hard to change a team's identity with a trade or two.

Final Questions/Comments:

• How good can Foye be? To me, Foye is the biggest key to this deal. My first reaction to the trade was: Great, the Wizards got Miller, and he can shoot. But I didn't know much about Foye. True, the Wizards did trade this year's No. 5 pick, but just a few years ago in 2006, Foye was selected with the No. 7 pick. I did know that, but it's worth noting that Foye is a talented player -- when healthy. He's sort of a scoring, combo-guard type like Arenas at 6-4, 210 pounds, and he can score: He averaged 16.3 points last season. If he can keep improving, he could provide an upgrade over Javaris Crittenton and Nick Young.


• How will Miller and Foye fit in with the big three? Ernie Grunfeld has made the decision to build around Arenas, Butler, and Jamison, and this move confirms that. Miller should have no problem fitting in at shooting guard; he can shoot threes, pass, and rebound a little bit. Foye will be more of a question mark.


• Can Blatche and McGee step up? The loss of Songaila, as stated before, opens up playing time for Blatche and McGee, so these two youngsters will need to step up. Blatche will probably be the first big man off of the bench, but McGee appears to have much more upside -- and is certainly more exciting to watch. The Wizards will more than likely bring in another power forward/center, but how the bigs play behind Haywood will be extremely important in the upcoming season.

This trade helps in upgrading the supporting cast of the Wizards, but really, it won't matter much if Arenas isn't able to play like his old self. Butler and Jamison are great players, but when the Wizards don't play defense and don't have Arenas around, they're an average team at best. Miller and Foye should help ease the pain if Arenas can't return to form, but for the Wizards to move to the top of the Eastern Conference next season, they'll need Agent Zero at 100 percent.

Wizards deal pick for Miller and Foye

According to ESPN's Ric Bucher, the Wizards have all but traded the No. 5 pick in the upcoming draft. The deal has the Wizards sending the pick, Darius Songaila, Etan Thomas, and Oleksiy Pecherov to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

I'm surprised that Ernie Grunfeld is close to making a move already, but I'll elaborate more as details become available.