Let's hope this goes nowhere

by JakeTheSnake on Dec 24, 2007 1:56 PM EST in Rumors

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that the Cavaliers are looking to trade Larry Hughes (not a shocker) but they're also reporting that the Wizards are interested (much more of a shocker):

Larry Hughes' time with the Cavaliers might be just about over. According to several league sources, the Cavs have contacted several teams about a deal involving the 6-5 guard.

One source said the Washington Wizards are one of those teams and another source said another team is in the Atlantic Division.

Hughes spent three years with the Wizards before signing a free-agent deal with the Cavs in 2005 worth between $65 million and $70 million.

Like Shoals, I don't really see anything that would be gained by trading for Hughes. Obviously, Hughes had his best year while he was here but I doubt that he'll come anywhere remotely close to that same production if he returned. He'd almost certainly play better in Washington than he has in Mike Brown's system but I don't think it will be a night and day difference. Just for the sake of discussion, I played with the trade checker and a Stevenson and Thomas for Hughes trade would work. Another thing to consider is that the Cavs are also trying to swing a trade for Andre Miller, so perhaps the Wizards are only in it as a third party to make that deal work. I really don't think there's any substance to this rumor, but it's worth mentioning, I suppose.

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Well... maybe

I'm in a wild-eyed enthusiasm mood today, so take this with a grain of salt. But in terms of upsides:

Hughes is a hell of a defender. didn't he make second team all-NBA defensive squad when he was with us? When was the last time a wizard received that honor? Swapping him for Stevenson would at minimum be no net change on defense, and it might be a real upgrade.
It's clear that Etan + Brendan simply doesn't work. Etan doesn't play well enough to be our starter and Brendan plays worse when Etan is sweating him on the bench. That contract is an albatross for us, and Etan's such a good guy that I'd like to see him given the chance to succeed somewhere.
Sure, Hughes isn't likely to return to his 04-05 form, but if he even goes halfway, that would be a significant upgrade at shooting guard.
Am I the only person who's daydreamed a bit about "what if" scenarios had we kept Hughes and made the Caron-for-Kwame trade? How many teams have a "big 4?"
Deshawn to Cleveland would make them the hairiest team in the league.

Downsides, of course:

Contract is a cap-killer, and in a year when we could really use the space for resigning Gil and Antawn.
Having a big 4 and still no quality post threat is a little silly. We'd need to average 10 steal per night for there to be enough shots to go around.
Deshawn looks better than Hughes in rec specs.
Do we really need to bring in more players who are likely to get injured? Having a big 4 isn't much good if three of them are injured at the same time.
Seems like Nick Young is the future at the 2. Deshawn gives us defense and a little offense at a decent price for the next few years as the kid grows into it.

Still, dude, if Hughes came here, stayed healthy, and started to get back into his old form... Who are you gonna double-team? Pick your damned poison, every one of our players can kill you.

by sierradave on Dec 24, 2007 2:51 PM EST 0 recs

This is silly

Larry Hughes is probably the last guy the Wizards would want at this point. My guess is that there's more smoke than fire here.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Pradamaster on Dec 24, 2007 6:12 PM EST 0 recs

No Way

Just don't see any way it could be to Wiz advantage to bring him back. The Stevenson/Young combo is so much better on the court and off. I don't think he is going anywhere unless Cavs take up some of his salary and they are as salary cap strapped as the Wiz are.

by LoneWiz54 on Dec 24, 2007 6:58 PM EST 0 recs

I'm With sierradave

Larry Hughes played the best basketball of his career with the Wizards. The Wizards had their best season since '78-'79 with Larry Hughes as their starting 2 guard. He averaged 22.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 2.9 SPG that season in Eddie Jordan's system. Offensively, he was the second best player on the Wizards behind Gilbert. Defensively, I need to correct sierradave. He did not make 2nd Team All Defense that year. He made 1st Team All Defense. His production immediately declined the next season in Cleveland, obviously a sign that his game did not fit with the Cavs. I don't think anybody here doubts that his game fits best with the Wizards.

OK, so he's not the exact same player he was in '04-'05. Chances are, though, that he's still pretty good. Just two weeks ago, he dropped 22 on the Bobcats in just 26 minutes. Three days later, he threw down 36 against the Pacers, also in just 26 minutes. For perspective, in DeShawn Stevenson's best game this season ("DeShawn Stevenson is a flamethrower!"), he scored 26 points in 35 minutes. I like DeShawn Stevenson, but Larry Hughes is clearly an upgrade at the 2.

Yes, Larry Hughes's contract is a huge albatross, but so is Etan Thomas's, and at least Hughes could play for us this season. Plus, the difference in Hughes's salary and DeShawn's/Thomas's is only about $2.4 million, both this year and next, and the Wizards could easily make that up next season in the salary cut they offer Antawn, if they try to retain him at all. The Wizards could do this deal, offer Gil the max next season, and still be able to offer Antawn around $10 million for his services. That isn't a bad offer for someone in the twilight of his career, and the Wizards would still be under the salary cap. If Antawn wants more, then it would probably be in the Wizards' best interest to let him walk anyway.

I guess the difference between sierradave's and my perspective vs. Prada's and Jake's is that they see Larry Hughes as a guy playing poorly in Cleveland, while we see Hughes as a guy who played great with the Wizards and could still play very good given a system that maximizes his abilities. After all, he's only 28 years old (about to turn 29), which is way too young to consider him washed up. A move to Washington could be just what he needs to revive his career and help the Wizards push deep into the playoffs.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Dec 25, 2007 1:05 AM EST 0 recs

Tawn

I'm intrigued by the Jamison situation. He's getting paid superstar money, but it seems like he's barely considered a star. That said, he's averaging nearly 22-11 this season, and the team has floundered more in his absence than in anyone else's. Plus, he's a great clubhouse-community guy. He's obviously got plenty of value to the Wizards, and I have a feeling plenty of other teams are interested in the numbers he puts up.

Like many people, I've been assuming that he's in for a major pay cut because he's on the decline -- but he's obviously still a factor. And although he's already a multimillionaire who's a team guy and seems willing to sacrifice for a winner, it's hard to see him taking a big pay cut if the money's available elsewhere. I know he's a crummy defender and his shooting numbers are weak, but I'm not sure he's in for as big a pay cut as some people (myself included) seem to have thought.

As for Hughes, I don't see any team the league taking on his awful contract without dumping some crap on the Cavs in return. Etan's bad deal would be one such option. In the short term, I'd be willing to give up DeShawn to trade Etan's bad contract for Larry's. In addition to the better performance numbers-wise Hughes had here, he would give us another ball-handler, which we desperately need in Gil's absence. Plus, he also hit a number of clutch shots for Washington -- we could always use another guy like that.

In the long term, though, I'm not so sure. I think Thomas has only two years left on his deal, while LH has three, and we have a very promising scoring guard already on the roster in Laser.

It's a hard call, but I'm inclined to stick with what we have.

"Now, obviously individual production does not unilaterally equal better team production, but there's a high level of causation."

by Vanilla Gorilla on Dec 25, 2007 1:23 PM EST up 0 recs

songaila stevenson and thomas

for LH works. It would also open up Wiztards cap space.

by billyjoe on Dec 25, 2007 2:29 PM EST 0 recs

LH's thrid year

Of course he would be extremely valuable that final year because his contract is so large. If we could get two solid seasons out of him (over what Stevenson could give)then you bring him on. I think two solid seasons would not be out of the question, then use him as trade bait for a disgruntled superstar, hopefully a post player.

by zeke5123 on Dec 26, 2007 12:21 PM EST 0 recs

Bring him back?

My head says no, but my heart says yes. 2004-2005 was my absolute favorite season as a fan so I'd love to see Larry come back. He's been injured and unhappy and his style doesn't match the coach or the star. I think he's still got something left. In fairness, his first team all defensive was based on his leading the league in steals rather than his man to man D. I don't think he was ever considered a lock down defender. I'm not sure that he would actually improve the overall team defense although with him and Caron getting in the passing lanes, we could get a lot of easy buckets off of steals.

by hotplate on Dec 26, 2007 2:50 PM EST 0 recs

interesting

there is value in dumping etan's contract for a player who improves the wizards more than he would. it would be a gamble, but if ernie pulls the trigger on this i wouldn't question the decision. the injury risk and the uncertainty about whether hughes would return to form are the greatest concerns. but hey, wizards would have even more firepower than they do now. as someone said above, would there be enough shots to go around though?

also, i never thought hughes was that great a defender. i know he made first team all defense, but that was mostly for his steals. i never thought he was that great of a one on one defender. dwade used to absolutely destroy him.

seems to make more sense to me not to do this move, but its worth thinking about at least.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 26, 2007 6:05 PM EST 0 recs