Welcoming Randy Foye and Mike Miller
My first reaction to hearing that the Washington Wizards traded the fifth pick and a slew of lovable role players to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Mike Miller and Randy Foye was a hearty “NO! NOT POSSIBLE!” Granted, I was walking to an evening class and made the response on TwitterBerry, but still.
But the more I think about it, the more I think this trade works out pretty well. The Wizards jettison a pick they didn’t know what to do with, relieve themselves of hefty expiring contracts, and pick up experienced back court players who should flourish in roles that don’t require much.
Javaris Crittenton may be a little dismayed, but Randy Foye could prove to be a soluble mix for the offensive rotation under Flip Saunders. Where Gilbert Arenas is high octane, Foye can be the smooth compliment that can still get buckets when the ball inevitably comes into him with six seconds left on the shot clock.
As for Mike Miller, the Wizards get a shooter with a surprising predilection for rebounding. He plays into the walking punchline that is the team’s perimeter defense, but spacing will be his code word to receive minutes, and Caron Butler and Arenas will benefit greatly from his presence on the floor.
It’s not all gravy in D.C.; Wiz fans are deprived of a first-round draft experience that would’ve set the Diamond City Twitterati a flitter, and there’s still a sense that GM Ernie Grunfeld isn’t done dealing. That’s reason enough to hold your breath on some kind of package for a tenured vet (Haywood, Jamison or Butler), and/or a young gunner (JaVale McGee, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire) being shipped away for proven big (Amar’e Stoudemire)and another expiring contract (Mike James).
So it’s not so bad. They haven’t played a game, we haven’t seen Gil in action without rust, and we don’t know what is to come. But for what is here and what is coming, there’s more room for hope than haplessness.
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