Washington D.C. – Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the Wizards have acquired guard Leandro Barbosa and center Jason Collins from the Boston Celtics in exchange for guard Jordan Crawford.
“Our team has started to come together and play well over the last 20 games,” said Grunfeld. “This trade allows us to keep moving in that direction with the solid rotation and defensive commitment we have established on the court, helps us continue to build on the culture we are establishing in the locker room and gives us additional financial flexibility.”
Collins, the 18th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, has appeared in 707 career games with five teams (New Jersey, Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston) while averaging 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per contest. This season with Boston, Collins has averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 32 games.
Barbosa is a nine-year NBA veteran who was originally selected by San Antonio with the 28th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. The native Brazilian has appeared in 629 career games with four teams (Phoenix, Toronto, Indiana, Boston) while averaging 12.0 points and 2.4 assists in 23.8 minutes per contest. This season with the Celtics, Barbosa averaged 5.2 points and 1.4 assists in 41 games before ending his season with a torn ACL in his left knee on February 11.
Crawford was originally traded to Washington along with Mike Bibby, Maurice Evans and a 2011 First Round pick (Chris Singleton) for Hilton Armstrong and Kirk Hinrich on February 23, 2011. In parts of three seasons with the Wizards, Crawford averaged 14.5 points while appearing in 133 games. He averaged 13.2 points and 3.7 assists while appearing in 43 games for the Wizards this season.