Is their any chance the Rockets would be willing to trade for this guy? I think he'd be a great backup center, and has the mobility to play a little bit of PF in a pinch. He plays for the Wizards, who look as though they'll be playing small and starting Etan Thomas at center. Here's what I like about Haywood: He's a legit 7-footer who averaged 7.0ppg and 5.0rpg last year in just 19 minutes. He has good mobility and plays pretty good defense, averaging about 1.5bpg. Though his total rebounding numbers aren't overly impressive, he's averaged a respectable 2.4 offensive rebounds per game the last three years. Some concerns are his inconsistency and his lack of toughness in traffic, but I think he'd be a good guy to bring in as a replacement for Cato. I don't think the Wizards would be overly reluctant to part with him, considering the money they've just invested in Etan Thomas, and I believe they recently signed Samaki Walker. The way their roster is currently configured, Kwame might be seeing some minutes at the five as well. Would you want to trade for Haywood, if it meant potentially giving up a draft pick? I probably would.
No. He reminds me too much of Cato before he started working hard for us. Haywood is soft and is a underachiever. We need some toughness on the team.
But when you consider that the other guys available are Scott Williams, Deke, Keon Clark, Kevin Willis, etc., etc., a young, legit 7-footer with defensive ability is appealing to me.
I think the Wizards like him, and think he's got a big upside, I don't think that they're looking to trade him.
