The Dallas Mavericks have traded 29-year old SG/SF Josh Howard, 28-year old PF/C Drew Gooden, 28-year old SG/SF Quinton Ross and 28-year old PF James Singleton to the Wizards for 29-year old small forward Caron Butler, 30-year old center Brendan Haywood and 28-year old shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson. Butler will move right into the starting lineup at small forward for the Mavericks. He played in 47 games (all starts) with the Wizards this season and he averaged 39.4 minutes, 16.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Butler has now played in 533 games (500 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.7 minutes, 16.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Butler will give them a good lift on both sides of the court. Brendan Haywood will bump Erick Dampier to the bench. He has played in 49 games (48 starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 32.9 minutes, 9.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. He is playing the best basketball of his career right now and he will give the Mavericks a presence under the basket at both ends of the court. Haywood has played in 579 games (450 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 24.5 minutes, 7.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. DeShawn Stevenson was a throw in that the Mavericks will have little use for. He played in 40 games (13 starts) for the Wizards this season and he is averaging 15.4 minutes, 2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. His shooting (28.2% from the floor) has been really pathetic this season. Stevenson has now played in 621 games (422 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 23.9 minutes, 8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

The Mavericks won’t miss any of the guys they traded as they replaced them with better players. Josh Howard is the best player the Mavericks traded but he has been gimpy this season. Howard has played in 31 games (9 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 26.7 minutes, 12.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Drew Gooden was a solid backup PF/C for the Mavericks. He played in 46 games (11 starts) for the the Mavericks this season and he was averaging 22.4 minutes, 8.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Quinton Ross wasn’t doing much for the Mavericks this season. He played in 27 games (7 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he was averaging 11.1 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.3 assists per game. James Singleton also wasn’t making much of a impact for the Mavs this season. He played in 25 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 8.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists.

This was a great trade for the Mavericks and it will put pressure on the powers in the Western Conference to counter it.

It appears that 29-year old small forward Josh Howard is getting offered around the league in trade talks. He has played in 28 games (7 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 26.4 minutes, 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. But, his shooting has been off this season as he is only hitting 39.4% of his shots from the floor and 26.5% from three point range. Howard is a talented player but I really doubt that he can bring as much in return in a trade as he is probably worth to the Mavericks.

Forward Tim Thomas has played well whenever the Mavericks have called on him. He has played in 18 games (1 start) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 15.8 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Thomas is a good outside shooter who really gives the Mavericks another weapon off the bench. But, he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy this year.