Butler/Haywood/Stevenson to the Mavs!!

[Dirkenstien]

Yeah baby! Great day to be a Mavs fan!

[BGMaverick9]

saw this old blurb on espn.com

Dwight Howard opinion of our new center:

Defensive Player of the Year Watch
By Dwight Howard
Orlando Magic

1. Josh Smith, Hawks: He is a great shot-blocker, and to be a great defender you must be able to block shots. We played together in high school and AAU so I taught him how to be a great defender (chuckle).

2. Ron Artest, Lakers: He may be the best perimeter defender in the NBA. He also does an excellent job of protecting the paint.

3. Brendan Haywood, Wizards: Most people don't realize that he is among the top four in the league in blocked shots this season. So he definitely should be up there.

4. Kendrick Perkins, Celtics: He is a really good low-post defender. He knows how to use his body to his advantage.

5. Dwight Howard, Magic: I just love playing defense. I love blocking shots and rebounding.

[esoteric562]

great news indeed! i'm looking forward for whats to come for the rest of the season now

[bobbyfg7]

Let's hope this isn't a huge let down. But as of right now, I'm very proud of the FO for refusing to deal without Haywood. I think he could be as big of an addition as Butler.

Anyone know if Washington might buy Singleton or Gooden or Ross out? If so, does Dallas have the room to get any of them back?

[BGMaverick9]

Originally Posted by bobbyfg7

Let's hope this isn't a huge let down. But as of right now, I'm very proud of the FO for refusing to deal without Haywood. I think he could be as big of an addition as Butler.

Anyone know if Washington might buy Singleton or Gooden or Ross out? If so, does Dallas have the room to get any of them back?

I would think at least 2 of the 3 would get bought out. We have the room for them, but we'll have to wait 30 days.

[jthig32]

Very happy that it will be official tonight. That should allow the new players to be here Monday, or at least join the team in Oklahoma for Tuesday.

The Mavs now only have 13 players on the roster. You have to think they'll fill at least one of those slots fairly quickly.

[jthig32]

I doubt Ross gets bought out. He has a player option for next year.

[BGMaverick9]

Yeah I'd be interested to see how they play, if they do, in those first three games. It's a nice mix of what we'll need to know.
-How do they work against a young scrappy team with a stud (OKC)
-How do they work against an uptempo non-traditional team (PHX)
-How do they work against an elite team with a big man (ORL)

plenty of warm up time for the 24th, that's a must-watch.

[endrity]

Any chance Gooden is bought out? As a backup to Dirk he would still be nice!

[sefant77]

The Mavs threw up smokescreens and threw out chum. But Philly’s Andre Iguodala, Sacramento’s Kevin Martin and Butler have been on the targeted list for weeks. (A few NBA people believe Dallas’ preference was actually in that order). But Philly kept pushing Elton Brand as the baggage and Sacto didn’t much budge at all. So when Dallas convinced Washington to include Haywood, that deal jumped to the head of the pack.

So Iggy/Brand was for sure on the table.

Well, Haywood helps us of course way more than Brand out of position but i will pray there wont be a day in the future where u think "Um, Iggy/Brand was the better deal" - like with Haywood leaving 2010, Butler injury plagued and Brand back to 20/10/2...

And now Iggy/Martin/Ellis have to stay where they are, lets hope for it.

[monty55555]

Thank goodness!!! I am so happy! Can't wait for it to be finally "official" pending league approval ...

Woohoo! Go Mavs!!

[Thomas86]

If this deal goes threw I think everybody need to give Donnie and Mark props.

[Dirkules41]

Wohoooo! Lets get Dirk the ring!

[Dtownsfinest]

Originally Posted by Thomas86

If this deal goes threw I think everybody need to give Donnie and Mark props.

Don't we have to wait soe tme before we can ditate if this is even a good move? I think you may have to wait 2 seasons to see if this was a good move. But as far the personnel goes? I don't think the Mavs will miss any of the players they gave up. I know I won't. Josh's time here was done. He did all he could do as a Mav. It sucks what type of player he's becomce after we found him at the 29th pick in the 1st round. I hopd he'd retire a Mav but I didn't expect the decline to come so quick.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by Thomas86

If this deal goes threw I think everybody need to give Donnie and Mark props.

No more "if" dude. It's official.

[GermanFan]

its official

Butler to Mavs, Wiz get HowardComment Email Print Share By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Archive
The Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks have completed a seven-player trade that launches Washington's long-anticipated rebuilding project in earnest and sends Wizards mainstays Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to the Mavericks.

The teams agreed on the principal pieces Friday: Butler, Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas for Josh Howard and Drew Gooden. Mavericks reserves Quinton Ross and James Singleton were added to the deal Saturday and are also Washington-bound, with Dallas due to receive cash considerations in addition to the three players.

Washington and Dallas have completed a trade call with the league office to secure the NBA's required approval and will formally announce the trade later Saturday, sources said.


The Wizards have been talking to several teams for weeks about deals involving Butler and Haywood, most notably Houston with Tracy McGrady's $22.5 million expiring contract. But talks with Dallas had stalled in the past week, partly because of Washington's insistence that the Mavericks take guard Stevenson in any Butler deal.

When Washington agreed late in the week that it would add Haywood to the deal, talks picked up Thursday night and only grew more serious Friday, resulting in the trade that is widely regarded as the first major domino needed to loosen things up on the trade market in advance of Thursday's annual trading deadline.

The acquisitions of Butler and Haywood, meanwhile, would be a welcome spark for the sputtering Mavericks, with Butler moving into the spot vacated by Howard and Haywood arriving as another rim-protecting defensive anchor in the wake of a knee injury that has compromised the effectiveness of Mavs center Erick Dampier.

Acquiring Haywood and having the chance to re-sign him this summer would likely fill the void Dallas thought it filled last summer, when the Mavs signed Orlando center Marcin Gortat to a lucrative offer sheet, only for the Magic to unexpectedly match the offer to the restricted free agent.

Washington inevitably wanted Beaubois added to the deal, but Mavs owner Mark Cuban said earlier this week that his young point guard is "pretty much untouchable" as Thursday's trade deadline approaches. But sources say the Wizards are gaining so much payroll and luxury-tax relief -- while also keeping Jamison to either keep or move in a separate deal before Thursday's deadline -- that they couldn't pass on Dallas' offer.

The potential for acquiring two front-line players -- since Butler and Haywood would immediately become key rotation players for Dallas -- renewed the Mavs' interest and convinced them to relent on Stevenson.

Speaking to a group of reporters Thursday, Cuban said: "We kind of know the parameters [under] which we would make a deal. If somebody meets our parameters, we'll pull the trigger. But if not, we're not going to do it. I don't see us doing something just to do something because that'll kill our flexibility this summer. But in the event that there's somebody that really upgrades our talent and really makes our team better, then maybe we'll do it."

[sike]

KG will be happy to suffer this upcoming humiliation...

[GuerillaBlack]

Good trade for you guys.

Can't say I'm not jealous (said the same thing with Marion earlier this year).

Kidd
Butler
Marion
Dirk
Haywood

Nice starting five. I think Butler would be a better start than Terry.

[jthig32]

Hollinger really whiffs this:

DALLAS -- Let's cut right to the chase: I like this deal better for both teams if it's not the last on they make in the final few days before the trade deadline.
From the Dallas side, the big question at the moment is this: Does the acquisition of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood put the Mavericks over the top in the West?

If it doesn't, it seems a fairly limited impact for a $30 million expense -- the Mavs were just as capable of losing in the second round without Butler and Haywood. If it does, on the other hand, it's the kind of creative deal-making that has enabled the Mavs to extend their window as contenders despite their key players getting rather long in the tooth.

The deal -- which sends Josh Howard, Drew Gooden and spare parts Quinton Ross and James Singleton to Washington for Butler, Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson -- improves Dallas in a couple of key areas, but not cheaply. For Dallas, the bill comes to $13.6 million in payroll and another $13.6 million in luxury tax for the 2010-11 season, when they're paying the contracts of Butler ($10.56 million) and Stevenson ($4.15 million) instead of Ross' $1.15 million salary. The deal also adds $1.2 million in salary and another $3.2 in luxury tax for the Mavs this season, although they may be able to reduce those numbers if they can agree to a buyout with Stevenson. All told, the final bill should come in at about $30 million.

So how much better does that lofty sum make Dallas? Based on PER, it doesn't move the needle much. Our Trade Machine analysis is that the swap improves Dallas by only one win for the remainder of the season, largely because this season the difference in performance between Butler and Howard is much smaller than generally perceived. In fact, statistically, there's been virtually no difference between the two players over the past four seasons, including this one, in which Butler's numbers have been down just as sharply as Howard's.

For the Mavs, the success of the trade might come down to the names in agate type, not the headliners. That is, Haywood and Gooden may be fairly similar in terms of PER, but look at plus-minus stats and a very different picture emerges. According to Basketballvalue.com, Dallas gives up 11.25 points per 100 possessions more with Gooden on the court, one of the worst marks in basketball. Much of that is a result of his role in the rotation -- he's either playing as an undersized center or replacing Dallas' best player, Dirk Nowitzki -- and it indicates that he's hardly a great fit on the Mavs roster.

On the other hand, Haywood's plus-numbers over the last half-decade have been spectacular. This year, for instance, Washington is 8.46 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court. The one cautionary flag here is that since he was the only Wizard who could defend to save his life, his impact was probably overstated. At the same time, he's certainly a major defensive upgrade over Gooden, particularly against the types of big men that Dallas will likely have to face to get through the Western Conference playoff gauntlet.

That said, the deal overall still leaves me with more questions than answer. How is Butler going to defend opposing shooting guards when he can't even guard small forwards? How will the Mavs juggle minutes up front between Haywood and Erick Dampier, especially when they're likely to play extended stretches without a traditional center and Nowitzki playing the 5?

And most importantly, is the marginal improvement offered by a Gooden-for-Haywood upgrade really enough for a Mavs team that had outscored opponents by only 1.7 points per game on the season and is projected to finish with 49 wins and a No. 5 seed in the West?

As a result, my follow-up question is whether the Mavs are done dealing. If they turn around and swap Dampier's mammoth expiring deal (he's technically under contact next year but his salary is unguaranteed) for a quality shooting guard, I'd feel much better about the entire exercise. But at least one front office source I talked to expects the Mavs to wait until summer before trading Dampier.

Without such a second trade, however, it appears the Mavs are spending a total of $30 million just to improve their odds of making the second round. Even after this deal, I don't like their chances to beat Denver or Utah, let alone the likes of the Lakers.

Two major points he completely misses here:

He keeps saying the Mavs added $30 million in payroll and luxury tax next season for this move. But it's only that much extra cost if you assume the Mavs were A. not going to match Josh's contract (probably safe) and B. not going to replace him in any way (ridiculous).

The Mavs were going to fill Josh roster and salary slot on the roster next year one way or another. Paying Caron Butler $10 million is hardly a bad move. That's just a nonsensical assessment of the money involved, and he really misrepresented the facts to make the numbers look big.

The second thing he really misses on is the "problem juggling center minutes". The Mavs have in fact played very, very few minutes this season with Dirk at center. The notion that the Mavs are going to struggle to find enough minutes for Haywood and Damp to make the acquisition of Haywood worthwhile is absurd. And he clearly has no clue on Damp's situation, as to why he won't be traded before the deadline.

I don't dispute some of the other points, most importantly how Butler fits defensively. But the bulk of his argument is very faulty.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by sike

KG will be happy to suffer this upcoming humiliation...

The avatar has been selected.

(It's not really that great. I made one, so it's a bit poorly done. But I think it's funny)

[Thomas86]

I would love to be the fly on the wall when Marion and Butler meet....thoes guy really went at each other but now there on the same team.

[jthig32]

Thoughts on Haywood from TrueHoop:

Now that trade season is really underway (with the reported swap of Mavericks Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross and James Singleton for Wizards Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson), the consensus among basketball watchers is that the Mavericks have improved themselves with the addition of Caron Butler -- who has long proven he's capable of big-time feats such has averaging 20 points per game.

This is hardly just a Caron Butler trade, however. In fact, for the Mavericks, the big prize of the day may well be center Brendan Haywood.

Ask adjusted plus/minus
The Wizards have been pretty miserable this season. But they have been dramatically less miserable with Brendan Haywood on the court. Basketball Value pins his adjusted plus/minus at better than plus-eight points per 100 possessions. That's one of the top 30 ratings in the NBA, ahead of the likes of Ray Allen, Tim Duncan and even Caron Butler. 82games.com says that Haywood is part of the Wizards' nine most effective lineups. When a player has those kinds of plus/minus statistics, but is not an All-Star, if typically means he knows something about playing D.

Ask the backboard
When he's on the court, Brendan Haywood grabs about 18% of the available rebounds. At age 30, that's the best rate of his career. It's also good for 21st in the NBA, in nice company with Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Shaquille O'Neal, Kendrick Perkins and the like. It's also slightly better than Drew Gooden, whose place Haywood would take in Dallas.

Ask the tape measure
There are countless challenges to winning the West, but the biggest of them all is beating the Lakers. And a defining aspect of the Los Angeles roster is the extraordinary length of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Now the Mavericks -- with Haywood, Erick Dampier, Tim Thomas and Dirk Nowitzki -- have four players seven feet tall (or close) to mix and match.

Ask Dwight Howard
There's no need to even count the zillion points the Wizards routinely give up when Haywood sits. All you have to do is ask current defensive player of the year Dwight Howard, who recently declared Haywood the third best defender in the entire NBA.

[sike]

Originally Posted by Thomas86

I would love to be the fly on the wall when Marion and Butler meet....thoes guy really went at each other but now there on the same team.

Is this actually an issue? Just bc they intensely competed on the floor, doesn't mean much...

[bobbyfg7]

I think I just peed a little.

[sefant77]

Hollinger is an idiot and such an overrated "expert". He just loves to bash, same he did with Marions "huge" contract and same time jacking off over the Jefferson deal.

So he expected us to let Howard just walk or what?

And Hollingers numbers in the trade machine saying "+1 wins", big rofl.

[Rick41]

Hollinger is a douche. It's a proven fact.

[jthig32]

I just noticed this little nugget in the official story from ESPN:

with Dallas due to receive cash considerations in addition to the three players.

Holy crap. What an absolute raping of a trade.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by bobbyfg7

I think I just peed a little.

That's funny!

[monty55555]

I read on db.com from one of the people there that McHale said that Dirk and Kidd were both praying that this deal would go down! He just didn't put a link. Maybe he saw it on TV..

Wow... I'm so happy for those guys.

OMG MCHALE!!! "Dirk and Kidd were praying that the trade would go down" I knew, those two were waiting for a move and they got one.

http://dallasbasketballdotcom.yuku.c...NE.html?page=2

[aexchange]

Originally Posted by jthig32

I just noticed this little nugget in the official story from ESPN:



Holy crap. What an absolute raping of a trade.

i wonder if this isn't washington chipping in some cash to help grease the wheels for a dallas trade of the TE in a secondary deal? makes you curious and wonder about the significance of this.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by jthig32

I just noticed this little nugget in the official story from ESPN:



Holy crap. What an absolute raping of a trade.

As I mentioned in another thread, I suspect this probably means that the Wizards actually *wanted* both Singleton and Ross, perhaps to use as trade assets moving forward. Hell, perhaps to use as basketball assets this season.

Our little pieces played out nicely. And yeah, we raped the crap out of them.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by aexchange

i wonder if this isn't washington chipping in some cash to help grease the wheels for a dallas trade of the TE in a secondary deal? makes you curious and wonder about the significance of this.

I would think any TE deal would have been announced at the same time.

I think it's just them further bending to our demands and sending cash to offset the costs we're incurring in this deal.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by jthig32

I just noticed this little nugget in the official story from ESPN:



Holy crap. What an absolute raping of a trade.

Na, Blatche for the TE, thats a rape

[BGMaverick9]

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

As I mentioned in another thread, I suspect this probably means that the Wizards actually *wanted* both Singleton and Ross, perhaps to use as trade assets moving forward. Hell, perhaps to use as basketball assets this season.

Our little pieces played out nicely. And yeah, we raped the crap out of them.

Hmm. Maybe.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Usually the mavs are the ones getting pantsed in trades. Nice to see it go the other way.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Usually the mavs are the ones getting pantsed in trades. Nice to see it go the other way.

this. Maybe they really learned from the Kidd trade, where they maybe let down the pants way too early. Here i guess they played hardball with the Wiz: Haywood or no deal".

Should have done with the Nets too to save one 1st and Diop.

[Mavericks Rockets Fan]

My question is, are we good enough to challenge the Lakers now?

[Murphy3]

I won't miss the piece of sh!t that Josh Howard has turned himself into.

[mavs777]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9