Wizards get Knight from Suns

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THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Washington Wizards acquired point guard Brevin Knight from Phoenix last night in a trade for center Jahidi White.

The deal was done, more than anything, for salary cap purposes. The Wizards owed White $11.3million the next two seasons. The 5-foot-10 Knight is in the final year of his contract and is scheduled to earn $5million.

The salary cap for this season is $43.84million and is expected to inch up slightly next summer. If Knight's contract comes off the cap then, which it almost certainly will, the Wizards will have approximately $39million committed in salaries. How much cap space they will have to pursue free agents won't be determined until the new cap is set next summer.

Knight, 28, will be playing with his fifth team in seven seasons. He has averaged 7.6 points and 6.6 assists during his career.

White, a 6-foot-9, 27-year-old Georgetown product, has spent all five of his NBA seasons with the Wizards, averaging 6.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. However, this season the one-time starter had fallen out of the rotation and was the third-string center.

"We appreciate everything Jahidi did for this organization," Wizards president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld said. "This gives us some cap flexibility this summer and next year, and it also adds another point guard to a competitive position."

-- John N. Mitchell