[SmootSmack]

It's nothing salacious for those thinking (hoping) it is. It's just that there was a bigger plan in place for the long term that got screwed over by Abe Pollin's mishandling of Stackhouse's contract when they traded for him. Rip wanted max money from the Wizards-this after talking smack about Jordan in the locker room-but to that point in his career hadn't proven he deserved it. When he was told to basically earn it and he'd get it, he said he was going to bolt when he became eligible for free agency at the end of the year. So they traded him for a salary they could dump (Stackhouse) at the end of the year so they could get some top free agents that had already said off the record they were intent on signing with the Wizards.

It's all worked out but bottom line moving Rip was part of a bigger plan