Who do people think actually wins this trade?

Will any of the players involved be amnestied?

I personally think that Washington is the winner in this trade, although they have taken on two players who have 2 years left, they are going to bring more to the team than what Lewis gave them.

Ariza and Okafor have the ability to contribute and at least John Wall and Nene have a little bit of experience around them now. Certainly not going to make them a good team, just a little bit better

But to be a little bit better, for 2 years with that money against the lower cap? I think it is a bit dumb. Wasting 2 more years of John Wall....

Although the other side of the coin may be that the Wizards didnt feel like there was anything in the free agent market to the value of these contracts and players, and maybe are planning or a free agent assault in 2 years.

New Orleans win this trade by a long way!

It was clear to everyone that NOH were trying to dump the contracts of Ariza and Okafor, with talk being that they would use the #10 pick as the selling point for a team to take on the bad contracts (I think it's a combined $40mil over 2 years).

Washington traded a $23mil contract (only $13mil guaranteed) and a second round pick for two overpaid role players who don't help the needs of the team, or even elevate them out of the lottery running next year. It also eats up any cap space they had this year and next year because they took on $30mil of unneeded salary. Washington will potentially have to amnesty someone like Andray Blatche just to avoid the luxury tax in the next couple of years.

New Orleans on the other hand was able to shed 2 contracts they have been trying to dump, maintain the #10 pick, open up minutes for Anthony Davis, create the necessary cap space to make an offer (~$10mil per year to E. Gordon) and still have enough to offer a max deal to a free agent (after they waive Lewis and potentially amnesty Jarret Jack's remaining $10mil).

Given that neither of these teams are close to contending, the winner of this trade is clear.

Very good summary Clarky, I was not aware that only 13mil of Lewis' 23mil was actually guaranteed

You have completely convinced me to see why NOH has made this trade...

NOH win tghe trade, but Washington come out alright.

They give up having to pay Lewis $13mil not to play for them!!!!

For 2 good players, sure Okafor is overpaid.
But he can play C in the East with Nene at the 4.
Gives them 2 good bigmen, they may amnesty Blanche just to get his attitude away from the team.

Ariza is a very good sg/sf defender and Wall will make him better on Offense then his numbers from last season.

Wizards Line-up looks decent
Wall
Ariza
Kidd-Gilchrist
Nene
Okafor

Very good on D and Wall and Nene can supply the scoring.

Agree with Aussieballer,

Building for Wall to perform is not so bad and if they can move Blatch for pieces it looks like a decent group. Could even amnesty him if they need too.

I think that the lack of any real free agents made them pick up 2 good (not great pieces) in a trade rather than in free agency. And they dont spend $13M buying out Lewis.

If they are slotting a rookie into their starting lineup then I doubt they will pick Kidd-Gilchrist (who is more of a SF at 6'8).

They would be much better off taking Bradley Beal to slot in as the starting 2 as he provides the one thing they are really missing... Shooting.
He is being talked about as the best pure shooter to come through the draft since Ray Allen.

With Wall, Ariza, Nene and Okafor the Wizards are clearly missing someone who can space the floor and shoot the 3-ball. There are questions over MKG's perimeter offense and his shooting technique, so why take a "project" (I use this in the loosest sense of the word) when you could slot a lights-out shooter into that spot.

Wall
Beal
Ariza
Nene
Okafor

This is a much more balanced starting 5, with penetration, post scoring, rebounding, defense and shooting all accounted for.

Yeah I feel sorry for Washington because from the sounds of it they couldn't afford to pay out Rashard Lewis so they opted to try and at least get 2 players who will be able to give them something over the next 2 years for their money.
Okafor is solid and will team up well with Nene, he's a really good defensive centre.
Ariza, he's an ok player but they obviously had to take him to even the deal.
New Orleans are tdefinitely the winner, they still have Kaman at the Centre and will now pick up Davis and can afford to make a decent offer to Gordon.

Can see how both teams benefit. Wiz get a couple of solid pros to help wall and co grow for next two years and will be off the books before money is needed to extend their franchise player. Hornets looking for fresh start under new ownership will be happy to get rid of players assoc w past era and will do their best to tank this season to get another high pick to complement Davis and Gordon.

Just one thing Panther: Kaman is a free agent and may well decide to sign w someone else this season. I know there's a lot of Celtic fans hoping he could be enticed to help the big 3 contend one more year!

The problem for me is that Washington are looking like they are happy to be a lower rung playoff team....I'm a Houston fan myself and i can tell you, having a team that is good but not great year after year is painful. you never get the high end guys through the draft, and you can't sign high level free agents unless your in a big market.

Also Ariza is horrible...the year he was in houston he shot us out of games on a regular basis....a handy defender but kills all his effectiveness on that end with woeful offence.

NO wins by a long way, they dump 2 big salaries and fully commit to the rebuild around Davis...I would think they are using the Thunder as their model to rebuild. I'd say Lewis will be bought out or stashed at the end of the bench while they go completely young as he doesnt really offer what a rebuilding team needs.

Also, can someone clarify if these players can still be amnestied? I was under the assumption they can't be after they have been traded.

Lewis can't be amnestied by the Hornets, but his $23.8million contract can be bought out for $13mil

Teams can only amnesty players that were on their team at the time of the new Bargaining agreement starting.

Great deal for both sides, IMO.

N.O. get to remove two contracts from their books that they didn't like, as well as create 2 extra roster spots after they amnesty Rashard's ridiculous max contract, ready for the rebuild around Anthony Davis.

Washington gets to add two more core pieces to their program built around John Wall, both of whom are technically in their prime, plus they get rid of Rashard's ridiculous max contract. If they don't like Ariza or Okafor (who I think is one of the best defenders in the league), they can always amnesty them.

Ariza is not horrible, he has just been poorly coached since leaving LA. Houston overpaid him thinking he could carry a large offensive load.

Don't run any plays for him, just let him do his thing and he's useful. When he tries to create off the dribble is when he struggles. He's one of those guys who is great as a fourth of fifth option in the starting five. Force him him play D and get his buckets within the offense.

Also, stops them from over paying a Free Agent and mesing up their ability in the future.

A lot also depends on whether Grunfeld wants to pay luxury tax because with the acquisiton of Okafor and Ariza they will be paying luxury tax next year with the lower cap.

I think even if they amnesty Blatche they are still over the new cap.

Dumb move by the Wizards, but no where near as dumb as the Brookly Nets trade for Gerald Wallace.

Not too bad either way. Lewis won't play for NO, they'll buy him out.

I do like it for Washington, it seems the new direction they are heading in, surrounding veterans around Wall, and getting rid of knuckleheads. Blatche is the last of the knuckleheads.

People grumble that this has impacted on cap space, but it's not like Washington are going to sign top notch free agents anytime soon, plus it's only a 2 years.

I think they trade Booker or one of their young PF's for another SF, and they'll draft Beal.

Got to say I think it is a good deal for both teams. Washington can't afford to have another year of Wall going nowhere; they need him to start developing at a much higher rate than he has so far. And that is only going to happen by surrounding him with quality team-mates who can play basketball (not Javale) and getting him in games that might actually mean something. I think with how weak the east is they could definitely push for a lower seed spot (6-8 range) if they make a couple of trades and have a bit of luck. And let's be realistic, no free agents where going to be chasing down the GM to let them play their.
New Orleans also has come out great with this as they can play Davis a ton of minutes and also tank for next season; they are at least 2 years away from being any good now. So another high draft pick next year and suddenly they have 3 positions covered for the next 8 years. Then they can build a contender. Good trade for both teams

Mick, I totally agree. Ariza has not been used properly since leaving the Lakers, especially in Houston. He is not the kind of player a coach should give a green light to shoot because he's not greatly consistent offensively and isn't good at creating his own shot.

The Lakers used him perfectly: 25-30 minutes a night, shoot when open, focus on the hussle plays and defense. He's one of the best in the NBA at this role.