Mavericks on verge of trading Josh Howard

The Mavericks appear to have agreed on the major points of a trade that will send Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross and James Singleton to Washington for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

The deal is not done. But a source said that the pieces of the trade have been tentatively agreed upon.

The trade would require league approval, which could take until after All-Star Weekend.

The Mavericks and Wizards have been trade partners before, when Dallas acquired Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse for Antawn Jamison in 2004. That was a trade that both teams viewed as a success.

Washington apparently has become resigned to the fact that Haywood, their center who is having a solid season, would not re-sign this summer when he is a free agent.

That, plus the fact that the Wizards will save a ton of money if the deal goes down, is their motivation.

The Mavericks drafted Howard in 2003 and he has enjoyed great successes, although he has been prone to controversial moments.

He's been struggling this year to recover from off-season ankle surgery but has played well lately. Next season, his contract is a team option, which could yield a payroll savings of $11 million for the Wizards.

Comments

[Roman Rosas]

Josh Howard is going to be great loss on the defensive side. I'm thinking the Mavs should have gone for someone considerably younger, but Caron Butler is pretty good in my view; the guy nearly averaged 21 points per game standing 3 inches taller than Howard. Plus we get another 7-foot center to-go! I hope this trade is the right one, I'll trust Cuban's gut on this one.

[The Swami]

3 inches taller? these are the exact same players, the exact same age, and the exact same size (6' 7")!! this deal makes absolutely zero sense. even if you want to argue Butler maybe averaged a point more than Howard at his best, the Bullets also played a more up-tempo pace in lieu of D! WHy are we taking on more payroll to add an IDENTICAL player?! Seriously? the only way this even remotely might make sense is if someone finally bit on Dumpier and we need Haywood for a center. That's it! absolutely godawful. I understand the need to do something, but how is a lateral move (at best) it?!?!