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Cory Elfrink

Foye, Miller Traded to Wizards

June 24, 2009 10:22am CDT

David Kahn is well on his way to making over one of the more depressed franchises in the NBA. Shortly after taking over as the new GM of the Timberwolves, he cut franchise ties with Kevin McHale, who had been with the team since 1994. McHale made numerous calls while in the front office that backfired, and this was a popular move amongst all 13 T'Wolves fans.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Kahn had orchestrated his second major move of his young tenure. The Wolves dealt guards Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Washington Wizards for the fifth pick in the 2009 draft, Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas, and Darius Songaila.

The Wizards had been shopping their fifth overall pick for nearly a month. Aside from the Wolves, the Knicks, Mavericks, Suns, and Trail Blazers all made offers for the pick, but nothing could match Kahn's package. The Wizards will now not only welcome back Gilbert Arenas, but also gain two more exceptional scorers in Miller and Foye.

How will they fit in? Foye will play off-guard next to Arenas, and this is a good thing. When the Timberwolves were dominating in January (really, that happened), Foye was excelling at shooting guard. Following Al Jefferson's injury in early February, Foye went downhill as he was suddenly the No. 1 option in the offense. That certainly won't be the case in D.C., where Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison are all potential 20-point scorers. Although Foye's scoring might dip slightly from the 16.3 points he averaged in 2008-09, his efficiency should pick up significantly.

Miller is entering his 10th season in the league, and he's coming off his lowest scoring average (9.9) for any season as a pro. While the scoring was down, his 4.5 assists represented the highest mark of his career and his 6.6 rebounds marked the second-best average of any season. As recently as 2005-06, Miller won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award. Look for him to resume that role with the Wizards on a second unit that will also feature Mike James, Andray Blatche, Nick Young, and JaVale McGee. Thanks to this trade, the Wizards are a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.

In return for the two best players in the trade, the T'Wolves pick up Thomas' $7.35 million expiring contract, a solid back up power forward in Songaila, and a young seven-footer in Pecherov, whom they can release after the season if they prefer. Oh, and they also added the fifth pick in this week's draft, which is their fourth (and highest) first-round selection.

Kahn owns the 5th, 6th, 18th, and 28th picks in the draft. They also have the 45th and 47th picks, which fall in the second round. There has been a lot of speculation that the T'Wolves will ship two picks to the Grizzlies in return for their No. 2 selection, but don't expect them to give up both of their lottery spots. Wherever their picks fall, there's really not a pairing that won't workout for them. They will get some mix of Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, James Harden, Hasheem Thabeet, and Jonny Flynn. I don't expect a trade to be made until that 18th pick is up, as teams will want to know who's available there.

This trade works out great for both teams. The Wolves were not going anywhere next season with Miller and Foye, so they were expendable as long as they brought back expiring contracts and a high draft pick. Now, the Wolves will have Jefferson, Love and their three or four first-round picks this season locked up at reasonable prices through 2013 and a lot of cap space next summer. This team could make the playoffs in a couple of seasons. As for the Wizards, they have a deep and dynamic roster that may lack defense, but they should outscore next to everyone.

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