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The Washington Wizards are close to a deal that would send the No. 5 pick in Thursday's draft, Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Darius Songaila to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Randy Foye and Mike Miller, a league source told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher on Tuesday.
The Wolves would then keep the draft pick and their own selection at No. 6 and not try to package those to move up, a source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
The trade hasn't been consummated yet because of a clerical point that Etan Thomas needs to handle, a source told Katz. Thomas has to come to the Wizards' offices Wednesday to sign an agreement that he won't opt out of his deal on July 1 and become a free agent. By agreeing to the trade, Thomas would receive $1.2 million. Thomas is expected to sign the note, but it is a procedural matter that must be done before a conference call with all parties can be held.
Meanwhile, Minnesota owner Glen Taylor, who is the chairman of the board of governors, was expected to meet with general manager David Kahn Tuesday night to go over the trade but wasn't expected to balk at the move. The source told Katz that the Wizards expect this trade to become official Wednesday. Washington had made overtures regarding moving the No. 5 pick ever since the Wizards landed it on the draft lottery on May 19. Washington listened to offers from New York, Dallas, Phoenix and Portland but settled on a deal with Minnesota, looking for veteran perimeter help while getting rid of expiring contracts.
Once the trade becomes official on Wednesday, Minnesota the NBA draft board will show the Timberwolves on the clock with the fifth pick on Thursday night, not the Wizards. When trades are completed after the midday deadline on draft day the draft board doesn't change, and teams must pick for their trade partner.
The source told Katz that until the deal is officially done, Minnesota could still work a trade to get a third party involved.
Meanwhile, the source said that Washington was thrilled to land Foye and Miller to beef up its perimeter shooting. The Wizards look at Miller as filling a 3-point shooting void on a team that was considered a playoff contender had it been healthy last season. Miller would be in the mix with Caron Butler while Foye would be a solid lead guard in a rotation with Gilbert Arenas, Nick Young and DeShawn Stevenson.
Foye is a three-year veteran who was second on the Wolves in scoring last season at 16.3 points per game. He added 4.3 assists per contest.
Miller was part of an eight-player, draft-day trade last season, going from the Grizzlies to the Wolves with Kevin Love for the rights to O.J. Mayo. The nine-year veteran averaged a career-low 9.9 points per game for the Wolves last season.
The Wolves would then keep the draft pick and their own selection at No. 6 and not try to package those to move up, a source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
The trade hasn't been consummated yet because of a clerical point that Etan Thomas needs to handle, a source told Katz. Thomas has to come to the Wizards' offices Wednesday to sign an agreement that he won't opt out of his deal on July 1 and become a free agent. By agreeing to the trade, Thomas would receive $1.2 million. Thomas is expected to sign the note, but it is a procedural matter that must be done before a conference call with all parties can be held.
Meanwhile, Minnesota owner Glen Taylor, who is the chairman of the board of governors, was expected to meet with general manager David Kahn Tuesday night to go over the trade but wasn't expected to balk at the move. The source told Katz that the Wizards expect this trade to become official Wednesday. Washington had made overtures regarding moving the No. 5 pick ever since the Wizards landed it on the draft lottery on May 19. Washington listened to offers from New York, Dallas, Phoenix and Portland but settled on a deal with Minnesota, looking for veteran perimeter help while getting rid of expiring contracts.
Once the trade becomes official on Wednesday, Minnesota the NBA draft board will show the Timberwolves on the clock with the fifth pick on Thursday night, not the Wizards. When trades are completed after the midday deadline on draft day the draft board doesn't change, and teams must pick for their trade partner.
The source told Katz that until the deal is officially done, Minnesota could still work a trade to get a third party involved.
Meanwhile, the source said that Washington was thrilled to land Foye and Miller to beef up its perimeter shooting. The Wizards look at Miller as filling a 3-point shooting void on a team that was considered a playoff contender had it been healthy last season. Miller would be in the mix with Caron Butler while Foye would be a solid lead guard in a rotation with Gilbert Arenas, Nick Young and DeShawn Stevenson.
Foye is a three-year veteran who was second on the Wolves in scoring last season at 16.3 points per game. He added 4.3 assists per contest.
Miller was part of an eight-player, draft-day trade last season, going from the Grizzlies to the Wolves with Kevin Love for the rights to O.J. Mayo. The nine-year veteran averaged a career-low 9.9 points per game for the Wolves last season.
