The Washington Wizards have now announced that point guard Gilbert Arenas has been traded to the Orlando Magic for power forward Rashard Lewis.
The team sent out this press release on it's website:
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has acquired forward Rashard Lewis from the Orlando Magic in exchange for guard Gilbert Arenas.
“This trade allows us to continue to rebuild around our core group of young players and provides financial flexibility as we move forward,” said Grunfeld. “We’re thrilled to have been able to accomplish those goals while also getting back a two-time All-Star in Rashard Lewis, who brings us versatility, three-point shooting and a veteran presence.”
Lewis, in his 13th season out of Alief Elsik HS in Houston, owns career averages of 16.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in 874 career games (785 starts) for the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. A two-time NBA All-Star with career shooting percentages of .455 from the field, .391 from three-point range, and .807 from the free throw line, the seasoned forward is a veteran of 64 career playoff games (with postseason averages of 16.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game) and a visit to the NBA Finals with Orlando in 2009. A 20+ point per game performer from 2004-07, the 31-year-old Lewis has made 1,631 three-point field goals, and comes to Washington just 555 points shy of the 15,000 career points mark.
Arenas departs after spending seven-plus seasons with the Wizards, during which he compiled averages of 25.0 points and 5.7 assists in 357 games. He was initially signed by the Wizards as a restricted free agent on August 8, 2003, and later re-signed as an unrestricted free agent on July 13, 2008.
“When we re-signed Gilbert prior to the 2008-09 season, we envisioned a level of team success that we unfortunately were not able to achieve due to injuries and other factors beyond our control,” said Grunfeld. “We appreciate the contributions that he made to this franchise and this city and wish him the best of luck.”
If you couldn't tell what Ernie Grunfeld meant to say, he essentially said "The Washington Wizards are now in full rebuild, tear-down mode".
As expected, it appears the rest of the 2010-2011 season will not be about wins and losses, but about the development of John Wall, and seeing who on the current roster fits the long term vision of Ernie Grunfeld and owner Ted Leonsis. Sounds like the definition of rebuilding.