The Washington Wizards are not planning to stand still this summer and hope their team improves miraculously. They have committed to change, and it started today with the announcement that they have acquired Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Rashard Lewis and their second round draft pick.
And while many of you may be wondering if Rashard Lewis still has anything left in the tank, the New Orleans Hornets believe so. The Hornets are banking on Lewis being the perfect perimeter threat to pair with the versatile defensive minded rookie Anthony Davis…
”We are rebuilding our team and this is one step in our new direction,” Hornets general manager Dell Demps said. ”This trade will provide an opportunity for our young players to develop and create flexibility to add to our core group moving forward.”
Said Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld: ”Rashard unfortunately was injured while he was with us, and he didn’t get an opportunity to show the kinds of things he was capable of doing. … He had a very hefty buyout in his contract, and we elected to add a couple of players to the roster by using his contract.”
Grunfeld said the Wizards would have had to pay a $13.7 million buyout.
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