Hornets win draft Lottery; Wizards pick 3rd

[itvnetop]

Originally Posted by Longtimefan

Wizards trade Rashard Lewis, No. 46 draft pick to New Orleans for Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza - Wizards Insider - The Washington Post

Pros: Changing the culture with proven vets who work hard. Proving to Wall that the organization is doing whatever it can to make his job easier. Solidifies a front court, balancing rebounding (Okafor) with scoring (Nene/Seraphin). Ariza can also spread the floor from the forward position, which is a major area of need.

Cons: There goes the cap space. Okafor's got an injury history, like Nene. Hopefully, this won't take minutes away from young guys like Seraphin and Booker (and even though I didn't like the Vesely pick, how do we evaluate him without proper burn?)... but there's no way Okafor's going to sit on the bench with that contract.

In all, I'm ok with the move. I guess the Wiz are hedging their bets with two centers that have injury problems. I'm not sure how many quality free agents would have come here, regardless of how much space the team had in a year. I think the biggest net is making sure Wall doesn't bolt after his contract is up.