Consummating a persistent rumor, Caron Butler will be traded to the Mavericks in exchange for Josh Howard, several outlets are reporting, including Yahoo! Sports. Butler will be joined in the Southern sojourn by DeShawn Stevenson. Either Tim Thomas or James Singleton will head to D.C. with Howard.

Butler always seemed to be Washington's most obvious chip, in that among all Wizards stars perhaps he has underperformed the most. You can sense the disillusionment with Butler both in the on-court action and in newsprint (digital as it may be). This Tough Juice is (at least) a step removed from the 2008-09 version; that edition was a step removed from the two-time All-Star version which it succeeded.

J-Ho is an expiring contract -- Washington would be downright silly to pick up its team option on Howard's 2010-11 salary ($11.8 million). D.C. clears Butler's $10.5 million '10-11 salary off its books, as well as the likely-to-be-exercised $4.1 million Stevenson is scheduled to make, putting the team in position to come in right at the cap without trading Antawn Jamison or voiding Gilbert Arenas's contract. (If either of those chips fall, the Wizards could be in position to be at least minor free agent players this summer.)

Butler is clearly the best player in this trade, and while Dallas had (has?) dreams of somehow splashing into the '10 market, this trade isn't a huge monetary impact. The team will be well over the luxury tax line in 2011, as always. For the 2007-08 Wizards, Butler served as a fantastic partner for Jamison and center Brendan Haywood, leading Washington to the playoffs without Gil's services. It's been rough since, but Butler has never played with a point guard like Jason Kidd, and he hasn't played with a true supernova like Dirk Nowitzki since his young seasons behind Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. The Mavericks are much improved with this deal.

Source: Tom Ziller, FanHouse