Dallas Mavericks Trade For Caron Butler

February 13, 2010 by Cody Dunlap

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks have just completed their rumored trade with the Washington Wizards, and the deal will be announced later tonight.

The biggest pieces in the trade are Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood going from the Washington Wizards to the Dallas Mavericks, and Josh Howard and Drew Gooden moving from the Dallas Mavericks to the Washington Wizards.

Full description after the jump.

In the trade, the Dallas Mavericks will receive:

Caron Butler – Small Forward

Brendan Haywood – Center

DeShawn Stevenson – Shooting Guard

The Washington Wizards receive:

Josh Howard – Small Forward

Drew Gooden – Power Forward

Quentin Ross – Small Forward

James Singleton – Power Forward

The Washington Wizards were interested in this trade for one reason only: salary relief. All of these contracts expire after this season, giving Washington a significant amount of salary relief while allowing them to keep Antawn Jamison.

The Dallas Mavericks get Butler in return, one of the stalwarts of the Wizards’ rotation for the last few seasons, and a player who is averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds this year while making almost $10 million. Butler will turn 30 years old next month.

Haywood is averaging almost 10 points and 10 rebounds this season, and at 30 years old, gives the Dallas Mavericks a quality center they can rotate in with Erick Dampier. Haywood is also making only $6 million this season, an affordable price, especially considering Dampier will be a free agent after the season.

Quite simply, this trade is an outright steal for the Dallas Mavericks. Butler and Haywood are consistent, quality players that will easily fit into the team’s rotation. Butler is a definite upgrade over Howard, although it does sadden me as a fan to see Josh leave. It was time though, as he had fallen well out of favor.

Drew Gooden turned into the best possible signing for the Dallas Mavericks, as he showed enough after being signed to a one year deal to be traded for something better. Haywood and Dampier should be a nice center combination that will allow both players to remain fresh through the end of games.

My only concern is that Butler and Haywood have been on a losing team the past couple of seasons, and it is worrisome sometimes to acquire players that haven’t been winning recently. At this point, though, there is absolutely no reason for concern. This is a fine trade for the Dallas Mavericks, and a great reason to get even more excited about the second half of the season.