Wizards close to acquiring DeJuan Blair in sign-and-trade, according to report

The Wizards are on the verge of acquiring Dallas' DeJuan Blair in a sign and trade, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

Washington and Dallas are in advanced discussions on a potential sign-and-trade deal that would land DeJuan Blair with Wizards

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 14, 2014

Wiz have strong DeJuan Blair interest and, according to ESPN sources, in talks to see if sign-&-trade possible before Mavs must renounce him

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 14, 2014

The exact terms are unclear, but we'll update as we know more. The Wizards have three trade exceptions that can be used to complete the transaction, but it's unclear which one might be picked. They have a $2.016 million one and a $1.2 million one and just acquired an $8.5 million one today for losing Trevor Ariza. Washington may have to send an asset back to Dallas, but I doubt it'd be anything significant. We'll see.

The Wizards have to acquire Blair via sign and trade because they otherwise only have the veteran's minimum to offer and Blair will surely ask for more than that. They used the mid-level exception to sign Paul Pierce and the bi-annual exception last year to sign Eric Maynor.

The Wizards had interest in Blair last year, but were unable to work out a sign and trade arrangement with the Spurs in large part because they didn't have any trade exceptions. Blair ended up signing with Dallas, where he averaged 6.4 points and nearly five rebounds per game in just under 16 minutes a contest. He played mostly at center in small lineups, where his lack of shooting could be masked. He's an excellent interior scorer, rebounder and passer, but is a poor defender and can't shoot from distance.

It also remains to be seen what this means for Trevor Booker's future. It seemed like a certainty that he would be re-signed, but this would take away some of his minutes. We'll see whether he too stays.

We'll update as we learn more.