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Analysis of the Juwan Howard TradeBy Gene Huh
Trade Details:Dallas receives: Juwan Howard (f), Obinna Ekezie (f/c) and Calvin Booth (c)Washington receives: Christian Laettner (f/c), Loy Vaught (pf), Hubert Davis (sg), Etan Thomas (pf) and Courtney Alexander (sg) How the Trade Affects Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations Michael Jordan has been receiving a lot of criticism for his inability to improve the fortunes of the sagging Wizards franchise. However, with this one trade, MJ has given the Wizards a future to look forward to. Although Howard is a solid player, his salary cap number will be a staggering $18,750,000 next season. Howard's departure provides MJ and the Wizards a lot more flexibility to make moves in the offseason. If all the Wizards received in return for Howard was a rack of used basketballs, this trade would still have been very worthwhile. However, the Wizards actually received some decent value in return. Christian Laettner is valuable only because he will be a free agent next year, allowing the Wizards to cut him loose and gain $6.6 million in cap space. Rookies Courtney Alexander and Etan Thomas will provide the Wizards with a nice infusion of young talent. Alexander has all the tools to be a scoring machine in the NBA from the shooting guard position and Thomas, who is out for the season with a toe injury, could develop into a solid power forward in the Antonio Davis mold. Veteran sharpshooter Hubert Davis, one of the most accurate three-point shooters in NBA history, will add exceptional perimeter shooting and veteran stability to a suddenly young Wizards team. Plus, at less than $3 million a year, he is a salary cap bargain. The aging Loy Vaught brings nothing to the table except a $5 million a year contract through the 2003 season. Next season, the Wizards will be on the books for approximately $46 million, not including the money they will give to their draft picks. If the NBA salary cap increases from the current $35.5 million to about $42.7 million next season, the Wizards will still be over the cap. However, now that one player is not taking up roughly half of the cap number, the Wizards are in a position to make more meaningful trades. Expect the Wizards to buy out malcontent point guard Rod Strickland's contract for about $5 million after this season to continue the cleaning process. How the Trade Affects Dallas This was a perplexingly bad move for the Mavericks that may have been brought on by overzealous Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's willingness to make a deal with Michael Jordan. The addition of Juwan Howard's salary will ensure that the Mavericks will be over the cap next season and Howard cannot provide the powerful inside presence that the Mavericks are sorely lacking. On the basketball floor, the classy Howard will fit in well with the run and gun Mavericks due to his excellent passing and ballhandling skills. He will also provide the Mavericks with low post scoring and may find a new lease on life, away from the merciless booing of the Wizards fans. However, what the Mavericks really needed was a physical rebounder/shotblocker like a Dale Davis. The other players the Mavericks received, are strictly roster-fillers. Calvin Booth is a long, rangy shotblocker with limited offensive skills. He could replace Shawn Bradley, if Bradley is not re-signed. Obinna Ekezie is nothing but a warm body with a neglible salary cap number. Who Won? MJ and the Wizards definitely came out with the longer end of the stick in this trade. The Wizards now have a good nucleus of talented young players in Richard Hamilton, Jahidi White, Courtney Alexander, Etan Thomas and the underrated Chris Whitney. If they can add an impact player like Eddie Griffin or Jason Williams in the upcoming draft, the future will suddenly look very bright. As for the Mavericks, Howard will make the Mavericks a better team this year. However, his monstrous contract will balloon to over $20 million in 2003, leaving the team less able to make moves in the future. |
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