Josh Howard and Caron Butler Exchanged in Huge Dallas Mavericks-Washington Wizards Trade

Josh Howard is now a Wizard and Caron Butler is now a Maverick in a huge Dallas Mavericks-Washington Wizards trade. Howard and Butler were the corner pieces of this trade, but there were also five other players that were included to make the deal work. In the trade, the Dallas Mavericks send Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross and James Singleton to Washington. In return, the Washington Wizards send back Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson. On paper this seems to really make the Dallas Mavericks a much better team all around, and it will be interesting to see if this is what they needed to make it back to the NBA Finals.

Josh Howard has really been struggling this season, and had only been averaging 12.5 points per game and shooting 40% from the field. He really seemed to be out of favor with the Mavericks coaches, and just wasn't playing up to his NBA All-Star potential. Washington is probably hoping they can put him in their starting line-up to help a lot on offense, and that it will free them from the salaries of Butler and Haywood for the long term. It's not clear how much that the other three players that Washington got will fit into their scheme either, but it will put them in a better position to go after free agents next off-season.

For the Dallas Mavericks, this trade brings two players that might go right into the starting line-up. Caron Butler could potentially be the starting small forward for them, and it looks like Brendan Haywood could easily become their new starting center. Haywood is playing the best basketball of his career, and is just about averaging a double-double in points and rebounds. He should help spell Dampier and keep the big guy rested off the bench. With Butler the Mavericks get another potential double-double threat, and it would allow Shawn Marion to come off the bench. Any way you look at this trade, it makes Dallas much deeper, and gives them a much stronger bench.

Trade Summary:

Dallas Gets:

Caron Butler
Brendan Haywood
DeShawn Stevenson

Washington Gets:

Josh Howard
Drew Gooden
Quinton Ross
James Singleton

Reference:

Trade Announced