I hate to disappoint many of you, but I don't see the Wizards making any major changes to their roster this season.  Other than potentially signing someone like Bonzi Wells for a one-year minimum contract, what you see is what you'll probably get for the duration of this season.  

Considering their payroll structure, a major move this season doesn't make sense.  Their projected 2009/10 payroll is likely going to place them above the luxury tax threshold even if they do nothing.  They also don't really have any assets that are valuable this season.  Unless you count Dominic McGuire and Dee Brown, the Wizards have no players whose contracts expire in the offseason.  Additionally, with the possible exception of Andray Blatche, the Wizards don't really have any youngsters who have shown much, unless Nick Young's rookie season or Dominic McGuire's Summer League campaigns count.

Many see this as a bad thing, but not me.  Truthfully, we're not close enough to be making that final move to put us over the top.  We haven't laid much of a foundation, having won 45, 42, 41 and 43 games in the past four years.  One could argue that necessitates making a big move, but as indicated above, we simply don't have the assets right now.  Any move will likely involve a key member of our team, and that's not something we should be doing.

The picture changes, however, after the end of next season.  Suddenly, we're armed with three players (Brendan Haywood, Antonio Daniels and Etan Thomas) who give us a combined 20 million dollars in expiring contracts.  We're also likely armed with youngsters like Young, McGuire and maybe Pecherov, McGee and a potential 2009 first-rounder who have shown enough to be used as legitimate sweetners in a trade.  Finally, if we stay healthy this year, we'll likely win more than 45 games and create a more solid foundation for which to take that next step. 

That, combined with the allure of the 2010 free agent class, should allow us to make a trade for a strong player on a team looking to the future.  It's very difficult to say exactly which players will fit the bill, but this post will try to target some guys who could provide us with missing ingredients (perimeter defense, rebounding, versatility, etc.) that can turn us into legitimate contenders. 

The key, though, is to not trade any of our core guys.  That's why the Lakers' trade for Pau Gasol was successful and the Mavericks' trade for Jason Kidd wasn't.  By "core guys," I'm talking about players who are essential for their respective teams, not necessarily the best players on the club. 

So who is part of the Wizards' core?  Here's how I'd break it down.

• Gilbert Arenas: Pretty self-explanatory
• Caron Butler: Ditto.
• Antawn Jamison: It's mostly because of his contract.  Still, every time Jamison gets hurt, this team suffers tremendously.  I imagine he's going to start a slow decline next year, but even so, his value is extremely important both on and off the court.
• Brendan Haywood: This is a tough one for me.  On the one hand, Haywood represents six million of the Wizards' 20-million dollars of expiring contracts in 2010, but on the other hand, Haywood's the only real center on the team and the only strong interior defender.  He also doesn't really need to score a ton to be effective on the other end, so in this respect, he blends well with the Big 3.  The only way I'd trade him is if a real superstar (e.g. Amare Stoudamire, Yao Ming, etc.) is out there.  For these second-tier guys that will be discussed, it's not worth trading Haywood.
• Andray Blatche: I'm also going to put Blatche in this group because his contract is too small to account for his upside.  He's not only our best prospect, but he's also locked up to a long-term deal for only three million dollars a season.  Like Haywood, if a megastar was available, I'd consider trading Blatche, but for these second-tier guys, I'm hoping our other young guys are good enough to be sweetners.

Outside of those five guys, I'd trade anybody. 

So who do I have in mind?  Make the jump for some possibilities.

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