November 4, 2005
Wizards And Timberwolves Trade Players
Washington, DC – The Washington Wizards and the Minnesota Timberwolves announced today that they have agreed to a trade. The two teams have carried out negotiations for a few days and thy finally came to an agreement sending
Calvin Booth and
Michael Ruffin to Minnesota for
Eddie Griffin and rookie
Bracey Wright.
The Timber wolves who lacked of big men to support Kevin Garnett decided to send KG's backup to DC in order to get some force down low. The Washington Wizards were packed with centers so they decided to get some reenforcement for the other positions. The teams found their common ground and worked it out between their selves.
Washington's coach Eddie Jordan was very happy with the final solution. “Our front court was already quite solid and I could have not provided all the big men the time they deserved throughout the whole season. I'm certain that Booth and Ruffin will fit to the Timberwolves' organization. On the other hand Eddie Griffin is one of the most talented young power forwards that I know. He has had his personal troubles but those do not matter on the court. It's more than a pleasure to have him here. Wright may need some time to get adjusted to the league, but he's a solid shooter and will help to fill the blank left by Peeler's ceding.”
Griffin is a solid defender in the post who can come up with both blocked shots and rebounds at both ends of the court. He has decent range for a big man and is capable of driving to the hole. But he is still somewhat raw offensively and needs to develop his moves in the post. Also, he is not overly quick, but his size and leaping ability help to make up for that.
Griffin, the seventh overall pick by New Jersey in the 2001 draft, revived his career last season by averaging 7.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 70 games.
Former Indiana University's guard Bracey Wright was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the 47th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft on Tuesday night. Wright became the first Hoosier player to be selected in the NBA Draft since Jared Jeffries was selected 11th overall by the Washington Wizards in 2002. Now the two have ended up in the same team.
While at Indiana, Wright amassed 1,498 points during his career, which places him 15th among Indiana's all-time leading scorers. He also ranks in a tie for third in school history with 186 career three pointers, while his six Big Ten Player of the Week honors are among the top seven in league history. Wright was also named to the NABC First Team All-District earlier this season. In 2004-05, Wright led the Big Ten with 18.3 points per game, while also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He became the first Hoosier to win the league's scoring title since A.J. Guyton captured it in 2000 (19.7 ppg). He also shot .413 (150-of-363) from the floor and .783 from the charity stripe.
Eddie Griffin and Bracey Wright will join the Wizards on November 10th against the Golden State Warriors.

