[SmootSmack]

I think it's funny when I hear people, such as some experts on ESPN.com as well as his Kwame's agent, say that this will be good for him because he doesn't have to be the go-to guy and also he'll have Kobe to help him out. Are you kidding me? When was he ever asked to be the main guy here? The Wizards never put any pressure on him to be the go-to guy. And Kobe isn't going to coddle him. Kobe is a Michael Jordan wannabe who will yell at and berate Kwame.

Maybe Kwame will blossom in LA, but this is a deal that had to be done. The only concern on our end is that we're getting two guys entering the last year of their contracts (though Butler is restricted). But when you think about it, we've added a solid, consistent young swingman, a veteran point guard who can hit the open jumper, and word is we're getting Donyell Marshall as well. All those guys for the same amount of money, if not less, than we would have had to pay Hughes had we given him what we wanted. I'm not going to flat out say that we're better now than we were at the end of the season...but maybe we are.