Short after the Minnesota Timberwolves wanted to get into the action, and pulled off a deal which included Mike Miller and Randy Foye heading to Washington, and Washington's number five pick in the NBA Draft going to Minny.
And the funny thing is, despite the bags and bags full of rumors, these were the least speculated. The least talked about. Sure, RJ to the Spurs was a hot topic around last year's trade deadline, but nobody predicted him to be on a flight to San Antonio right now. The Timberwolves and Wizards have everybody gossiping around the league, as this deal was entirely unexpected.
Seeing that it (Minnesota-Washington) was unexpected and seeing that the deal officially going down certainly changes a lot of plans, including the days surrounding the NBA Draft and during the NBA Draft, as well as next season.
After the jump, I'll show you why.
The NBA Draft
Nobody thought the Timberwolves would hold four first rounders in their hands. Three was already a surprise for some people. But the common question is now: "What will they do with them?" With Foye gone, the T-Wolves may be looking to move up in the Draft to grab a point guard. They also have some questions with Mike Miller leaving. Who's going to be their go-to guy? Their deadly shooter? Minnesota will likely take a look at both James Harden and Tyreke Evans to answer those questions.
But the real juicy rumor going around now is the Timberwolves trading both the fifth and sixth pick for Memphis' second pick. Ricky Rubio is a prospect raved about all over the world, and is a guy who, if worked with right, can play multiple NBA positions. Not only does he have the skills to play point guard, but has the height (6-5) to even be a decent shooting guard in this league. That's a very intriguing option for the Timberwolves right there.
And Washington? Well, despite not having any picks left in the first round of the draft, they are still very excited for next season. See why in the next segment...
The NBA Season/Playoffs
The Wizards have just been transformed into a playoff team. Mike Miller and Randy Foye are two players you can count on to work hard and produce for you. Foye averaged 16.3 ppg last year and is only 26 years old. Gilbert Arenas may find his job already taken if he can't recover from his two consecutive injuries right away. Miller also gives Washington as solid guard at the number two position, averaging just under 10 ppg, 6.6 rpg, and 4.5 apg in 32.3 minutes.
That means the Wizards will have scorers at all positions with Brendon Haywood returning. Their starting line-up should look like this:
PG: Gilbert Arenas/Randy Foye
SG: Mike Miller/DeShawn Stevenson
SF: Caron Butler
PF: Antawn Jamison
C: Brendon Haywood
The Wiz will also have a solid bench as well, with JaVale McGee and Nick Young both having very promising years last season. That being said, the Wizards are now a legitimate NBA threat. They will most likely make the playoffs with their current roster, as the recent deal strengthened a lot of weak spots in their game. They have a large amount of depth in both the starting line-up and off the bench, and they also have some more veteran poise to count on in the locker room.
The Wiz probably won't be a top seed, but in my mind will have no trouble securing a seed somewhere from the 5-8 area. They'll have to battle with teams such as the Bulls, the Pistons (who are a bit shaky at the moment), the Heat, the Hawks, and the 76ers. If Gilbert Arenas comes back healthy and the Wizards don't have any other significant injuries, they MAY have a shot at the fourth seed, but it is still very, very improbable. The Hawks have now had two years of playoff drama under their belt, and D-Wade is determined to lead the Heat further into the playoffs than last year.
The Wolves are not going to make the playoffs next year. Sorry Minny fans, but I have to break it to you -- right now, the Western Conference is a bit full. With RJ heading to San Antonio, the Spurs are right there at the top again along with foes such as the Lakers, Nuggets, and Rockets. The bottom half of the playoff teams are also set to go for the beginning of next season, the squads being the Hornets, Mavericks, Jazz, and Trail Blazers.
However, the Wolves will surely be better next season. If they can somehow move up and snag Ricky Rubio, they'll have themselves a very interesting guard who can turn out to be a superstar if worked with correctly. If they stay put at number five and six, they can pluck Tyreke Evans and James Harden back-to-back, two sureshot elite NBA scorers.
