The Wizards Want All Your Finest Meats and Cheeses

With the NBA draft fast approaching and the rumors flying, I thought I'd post a quick update on the avalanche of rumors concerning the Wizards' pick. My general draft preview will be up Thursday morning, but thought this would tide you over.

As you may have heard, the #5 pick is getting more action than Shawn Kemp in a whorehouse. This leaves the Wiz in a great spot, as the uncertainty in the top-4 is creating more value for #5 pick. Although I endorsed trading Jamison and rebuilding, it appears that Jamison is off the block, so any trade will consist primarily of the #5 pick and some collection of Mike James', the poet's, and Darius Songaila's contracts. The latest rumors (from Chad Ford of ESPN unless otherwise noted):

• Knicks have offered Wilson Chandler and probably their #8 pick. I like that we would get a young player here, but there would have to be more money offered on the Knicks side for us to include our bad contracts. The Knicks have plenty of bad contracts, and offered Larry Hughes, but that possibility is unlikely given that Wiz are trying to shed salary beyond next year. That said, I wouldn't rule him out given that he has succesfully shared a backcourt with Arenas in the past. If Chandler and Hughes both come aboard, I think this would set a record for most tattoos received in 1 deal.
  

• There have been talks with the Suns about Amare Stoudamire. That pu-pu platter the Wiz are tossing into every other deal would not be enough to land Amare. Jamison could come into play here, and a 3-way deal may be the best way to get this done. I have no problem not getting a 1st-round pick back in this deal.


• Blazers have made Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, Jerryd Bayless, and Nicolas Batum available. Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez are also likely to be on the block. Bayless is the best talent, but he's just another scoring SG, which is not what we want. Blake is a nice backup PG and local boy, and Outlaw and Batum are talented players, but not what we need and definitely not what Grunfeld will want for next year.


• Wolves have offered Mike Miller. Bullets Forever has a great piece on the ideal guy for the Wizards to acquire, and sure enough, Mike Miller is very high on the list. The ideal guy for this team is a SG who can play defense and shoot 3's, similar to Trevor Ariza, Michael Pietrus, or Bruce Bowen circa 2002. Miller can definitely shoot, but his defense is not what we need.


• Rockets have offered T-Mac and Carl Landry. I actually am intrigued by this one. Landry is a good young role-player, and T-Mac will have a chip on his shoulder next year. The big problem is that T-Mac's contract is about $20 million, so Songaila, the poet, and Mike James is not enough in contract terms, and a young player would likely have to move to Houston. Other issues are that Landry will want a sizeable deal when his rookie contract is over, and the fact that T-Mac and Agent-0 could have serious sharing problems.


• Nets have offered Vince Carter. You can hear a pin drop whenever Rod Thorn throws that one out over the phone; how generous of them.


• Bucks have offered Richard Jefferson. He plays the same position as Caron, so this is not happening.


• Mavs are still interested. Jason Terry is not a good fit, so maybe a 3-way trade would be in play here.
  

None of these offers is a homerun for us, which is why I think a 3-way deal is very likely. A 3-way!

Maybe the 5th pick can get even more action.

(Image courtesy of ChrisCreamer.com)