Butler Sent to Dallas in Seven-Player Deal

The Wizards and Mavericks seven-player trade is official — Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson are headed to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross, and James Singleton. Butler could still be the Mavericks’ #2 option on offense, but he’s joining a more talented team that won’t lean on him nearly as much as Washington did. Then again, he was struggling under Flip Saunders and has a history of elevating his game after being traded, so his owners shouldn’t be overly concerned.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Boston: Paul Pierce saved his best for last during Saturday’s 3-point shootout, winning with a competition-high score of 20. Golden State Warriors rookie Stephen Curry finished second, followed by Chauncey Billups, Danilo Gallinari, Channing Frye and last year’s winner Daequan Cook.

New York: Nate Robinson won his third Slam Dunk contest on Saturday, beating out impressive rookie DeMar DeRozan, as well as Shannon Brown and Gerald Wallace. Nate and DeMar both had a few impressive moments, but this tweet from Utah Jazz beat writer Ross Siler tells the true story — “Nate Robinson won with 51 percent of the vote. The other 49 percent voted to end the dunk contest for good.”

Oklahoma City: Kevin Durant successfully defended his H-O-R-S-E title during All-Star festivities on Saturday. Omri Casspi airballed his first shot and was the first player to lose, then Durant defeated Rajon Rondo in a surprisingly long sudden-death 3-point shootout from the top of the arc.

Washington: Wizards beat writer Michael Lee tweeted on Saturday, “For the 1st time in weeks, I finally got the impression that the Wizards ARE open to moving Antawn Jamison.” Ken Berger of CBSSports.com also writes that the Wizards seem “committed to trading Jamison.” The Cavaliers seem to be the primary target, but haven’t officially made any offers as they consider adding Amare Stoudemire instead.

New Jersey: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Louisville coach Rick Pitino have both denied that the Nets are interested in hiring them to take over head coaching duties next season. “No one’s contacted me,” said Coach K, “And if they do, I think ‘nyet’ would be easy for me to say.” There have also been rumors that New Jersey wants to pry GM Bryan Colangelo away from the Raptors this summer, when his current contract is set to expire.

Milwaukee: Jerry Stackhouse hasn’t ruled out returning for another season with the Bucks.
“If anything significant happens again, as far as injuries, I would come to that point of retiring,’’ Stackhouse said. “But, hopefully, I can help the Bucks get into the playoffs and then come back next year with them. That would be a no-brainer.’’ He’s giving Milwaukee a nice boost off the bench but remains a questionable fantasy player.