The Washington Wizards made the first splash of the upcoming NBA offseason Wednesday, trading injury-prone forward Rashard Lewis and a second-round selection (No. 46) in next week's NBA Draft to the New Orleans Hornets for power forward/center Emeka Okafor and forward Trevor Ariza.
Lewis, acquired from the Orlanda Magic in December 2010, only appeared in 60 games for the Wizards due to various ailments, but was the highest-paid player on the roster last season at just over $21 million. Lewis was under contract for one more season; he signed a six-year contract worth $118 million with the Magic in 2007.
For Lewis and the draft pick, Washington will receive Okafor, a veteran big man in the same vein as Nene, and Ariza, a solid swingman who can bolster the backcourt.
With the Hornets set to take Kentucky forward Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick next week, Okafor and Ariza were expendable.
Adam Vingan is co-founder and editor of Kings Of Leonsis, a Caps-centric blog. Follow him on Twitter @AdamVingan and e-mail your story ideas to adamvingan (at) gmail.com.
