Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has acquired guard Kirk Hinrich, the draft rights of first round pick Kevin Seraphin and cash considerations from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the rights to Vladimir Veremeenko (a second-round draft pick of the Wizards in 2006).
“We are excited to add Kirk and Kevin to our team, as their acquisition significantly bolsters our roster,” said Grunfeld. “Kirk will provide another solid veteran presence to our backcourt and bring playoff-tested toughness, defense and leadership. Kevin is a talented young player with tremendous size and physicality, and we are looking forward to helping him reach his full potential.”
Hinrich, 6-3, holds career averages of 13.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game over 514 games (433 starts) in seven seasons with Chicago. He averaged 10.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game over 74 games last season while leading the Bulls to the playoffs alongside former number one overall pick Derrick Rose. Hinrich was originally selected by the Bulls with the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Seraphin (KEH-veen sare-AH-fon), is a 6-9, 240 lb. forward/center who was chosen by the Bulls with the 17th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds (.516 FG%) over 48 games for Cholet Basket in France’s Pro-A League. A member of Cholet for the duration of his career (including their cadet team, under-20 squad and senior team), Seraphin averaged 15.8 points (.598 FG%) and 8.3 rebounds in 30 career games of under-20 play. He also helped France to a silver medal at the 2009 Under-20 European Championship.
Veremeenko was selected with the 48th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft.