Washington packages No. 5 pick, three others in trade with T-Wolves
The Washington Wizards appear set to observe but not participate in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft after making a trade that will make them a contender in the Eastern Conference if they stay healthy.
In the first substantial move involving a lottery pick prior to Thursday’s draft, the Wizards are expected announce a deal Wednesday to send their No. 5 pick along with Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov, and Darius Songaila to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Randy Foye and Mike Miller, according to a league source.
Foye (16.3 points, 4.3 assists per game last season) and Miller (9.9 ppg, 4.5 apg, 6.6 rebounds per game) should both provide a combination of perimeter shooting and depth on the wing.
The 6-foot-4 Foye, a three-year veteran, could contend to start alongside Gilbert Arenas in the Wizards’ backcourt while 6-8 Miller, who is coming off a down year in which he was involved in a trade deadline move from Memphis to Minnesota, should provide relief for Caron Butler.
Washington had long sought to move Thomas, a veteran backup center who was set to earn $7.3 million next season, according to HoopsHype.com, in the final year of his current contract.
Songaila averaged 7.4 points in just under 20 minutes per game last year, while Pecherov averaged 3.6 points per contest.
Washington president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld met with the media Tuesday afternoon, where he said he had listened to lots of different trade proposals. Although he did not mention any specific deal, Grunfeld has been consistent in saying he would explore ways to obtain a veteran to complement the Wizards’ core trio of Arenas, Butler, and Antawn Jamison.
ESPN.com analyst Chad Ford had reported that the Wizards had received at least 10 offers for the fifth pick.
“As far as a veteran player is concerned,” said Grunfeld, “depending on who the veteran is and how the pieces fit together into the whole picture will determine which direction we will go in.”
Minnesota also holds the sixth, 18th and 28th picks in the draft.
