It's Official! Mavs Announce Seven-Player Trade

  It's official: The Mavericks just announced that they have acquired forward Caron Butler, center Brendan haywood, guard DeShaw Stevenson and cash from the Washington Wizards in exchange for forward Josh Howard, center Drew Gooden, forward James Singleton and guard Quinton Ross.

“We are more than excited to welcome Caron, Brendan and DeShawn to the Mavericks family,” President of Utopia Donnie Nelson said. “Caron is an established professional and an All-Star with the ability to score from anywhere on the floor. Brendan with solidify our center position with athleticism, shot blocking and defense. DeShawn has also shown that he can be a talented asset to this team.”

Butler (6-7, 228) is a seven-year veteran who holds career averages of 16.7 points and 6.0 rebounds to go along with 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 36.7 minutes in 533 games (500 starts). Butler has played for Miami, L.A. Lakers and Washington – where he was a two-time NBA All-Star (2007, 2008). This season, Butler has started each of his 47 games with the Wizards and is averaging 16.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals.  

A native of Racine, Wis., Butler attended the University of Connecticut. In his sophomore campaign, Butler averaged 20.3 points and 7.5 rebounds on his way to Co-Big East Player of Year and All-America Second Team honors. He was an early-entry candidate into the 2002 NBA Draft where he was selected 10^th overall by the Heat.

Haywood (7-0, 263) arrives from Washington as the longest-tenured Wizard. Haywood, drafted by Washington out of the University of North Carolina in 2001, has played for the Wizards in 579 games ranking third all-time in franchise history in field-goal percentage (.561), fourth all-time in blocked shots and sixth all-time in rebounds and games played. The Greensboro, N.C., native holds career averages of 7.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

Stevenson (6-5, 218) is a ninth-year guard out of Washington Union High School in Fresno, Calif., where he averaged 30.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists as a senior. Stevenson was originally the 23^rd overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. Stevenson comes to Dallas having played in 621 games (422 starts) with career averages of 8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 23.9 minutes with Utah, Orlando and Washington.

Dallas parts ways with Howard after drafting him in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft. Howard is the second-longest tenured Maverick behind Dirk Nowitzki and played 431 games in Dallas. Gooden and Ross were both in their first season with Dallas, while Singleton was re-signed last summer after he came to Dallas in 2008.

“We would like to thank these four players for their valuable contributions,” Nelson said. “It is especially difficult to part with Josh. He began his career as a Maverick and we have watched him grow. We appreciate what Josh has helped this franchise accomplish.” A couple of questions remain, in terms of some of the "loose ends'' we've discussed in recent hours. Examples: This deal is saving Washington room for the future but isn't offering short-term savings. And what about that Trade Exception the Mavs can offer? We'll assume the Mavs are working to find value for it elsewhere ... but that's a secondary focus.

Right now, as far as they're concerned, they've got a blockbuster trade to celebrate.