This trade proposal is just something to think about, its far from the answer to all the wizards problems, but it would/could certainly upgrade our talent level without sacrificing much.  This trade is assuming jamison and arenas resign and their salaries flip flop and the wizards cap number stays about the same.  And also, its not contingent upon that fact.

(i would do this trade before i did the eddy curry trade i earlier proposed)

Wizards Trade

Etan Thomas

DeShawn Stevenson

Darius Songaila

to the Chicago Bulls for

Larry Hughes

Aaron Gray

It works in the espn trade machine.

Why the Bulls do it?

They have a loaded backcourt and need to move at least 1, probably 2, from the hinrich, gordon, hughes situation.  Hughes has a large contract they dont want and this trade breaks that down into more manageable pieces for any continued dealing they do.  Thomas and stevenson's contracts run just as long as hughes' and songaila's runs for just one more year. 

Stevenson clears the point guard spot while bringing to the bulls the same things he brought to the wizards last year: defense, shooting, and some leadership.  He is a good piece for that young team as they try to learn how to win. 

(btw, if im a championship  contender trying to find my own james posey, stevenson is that type of player)

Thomas and songaila are both good players for the bulls to have on their roster.  I expect them to make several moves this offseason and they are just more quality chips to potentially move this offseason or to replace other players they might lose.  This trade is not gonna fix all the bulls' problems, but it will make their situation easier while getting some players that are better fits for how the team should be constructed.

They do lose aaron gray, but i dont see him ever being more than a backup and with all the frontcourt players they drafted, they should be willing to move aaron gray. 

Why the wizards do it?

Etan thomas is a luxury because he didnt play at all last year and the team was fine without him.  Its not that i dont think he can play, its just that the wizards moved past him and there is no role for him on the team.  His contract is almost terrible and the here is a chance to move it.

Deshawn stevenson is a valuable player and i think stats undervalue just how important he was to the wizards this past year.  But hes just not that great of a player and the shooting guard position can be improved upon.

Songaila is a nice little player and a contributor, but my hope and expectations for this year is that blatche steps up and takes all of songailas minutes.  Songaila is a stop gap player until you can get someone better.

Larry hughes is a huge talent upgrade for the wizards.  Hes had 2 bad years but i believe he was in systems ill suited for his game and he was forced to change his game, and it just didnt work.  The cavaliers style is terribly suited for larry hughes.  Hes not a good spot shooter so playing with lebron is tough and he is an uptempo player, ill suited for the slow-it-down way the cavaliers play.  This should have been obvious to the cavaliers when they signed him, but nba teams often arent smart.  

Hes proven that he is suited for the wizards style of play.  While the "Suns of the East Coast" title was always farrrr from accurate of the way the wizards play, we do play much faster than the cavaliers do.  There is more cutting, more plays, more creativity, and more independence allowed to the players, which is the type of system that a multi faceted player like hughes is good for.  I think he would thrive in any system similar to the wizards, but certainly not the cavalier's.  Im not all too familiar with how the bulls played last year, but i dont think he was put in a position to exceed and how he played for them does not change my thoughts of him as a player.   

The potential for ego/sharing the ball problems would certainly be there but i dont see that being an issue.  Arenas, jamison, and hughes are already friends and have chemistry and i would LOVE for caron butler to take more shots and demand the ball.  I dont see there being any problem there, and it could help arenas become more of a distributor and defender by taking less pressure off of him and putting him amongst equals like the celtics, pistons, and spursis have been able to do with their team mentalities.

This trade would bring the wizards a boost in talent that would make up difficult for any team to stop.  Our offense would be very scary.  We could have problems defensively and stevenson was our best perimeter defender, but its not like hughes, arenas, and butler dont have the potential to be good defenders.  This trade takes a lot of offensive responsibility off their shoulders and should allow them to concentrate more on defense.  Also, even if they werent the best on-ball defenders in the world, they would cause so much havoc for other teams with their theft ability.  

Im sick of typing and i think ive explained a lot of my reasoning behind something like this.  Let me know how you feel about a movement in this direction.