A franchise cornerstone will likely be leaving Washington soon.

No, I?m not talking about exiled guard Gilbert Arenas, or even allegedly Cleveland-bound forward Antawn Jamison.

Brendan Haywood has been the Wizards? starting center since 2002, tied with Yao Ming for the longest tenure of any starting center on a single team. He?s spent his entire career there since being drafted 20th overall in 2001 out of North Carolina, where he was the school?s all-time leading shot-blocker. He?s been kept in games, yanked out of others, pitted against Etan Thomas, and, this season, allowed to thrive with extended to an extent previously unseen from him (10.4RPG, 2.0BPG). He?s had alleged clashes with team management, periods of seeming harmony, and times when nothing has come from him but silence.

The Wizards somehow managed to keep him for a startlingly small salary. He agreed to a five-year, $25 million extension in 2004, which kicked in after his rookie deal expired in 2005 and has served him to this day. In an age when similarly talented players like Erick Dampier and Tyson Chandler have signed contracts for upwards of $60 million, it?s easy to see why the Wizards have never seriously entertained a Haywood trade.

Now that he?ll be a free agent, though, there?s no reason for him to stay in Washington. The team is in utter turmoil, bucking moderately high preseason expectations with a miserable 11-21 record even before the Gilbert Arenas expulsion. The Wizards have never been a serious contender to go to the Eastern Conference Finals during Haywood?s time with the team, and they certainly don?t look like one now.

There are plenty of far better teams that should be willing to offer just as much, if not more, money on the free-agent market for Haywood this summer. Washington doesn?t particularly need a 30-year-old center on a team that won?t compete. The team doesn?t need Butler or Jamison either, but both can be dealt this summer if nothing opportune arises at the trade deadline. By the time July hits, Haywood would likely be gone for more verdant fields with not a measly cash consideration or 2016 second-round pick going back to Washington.

The key for a team acquiring Haywood is to either have a mutual agreement with Haywood that he will re-sign, or to give up so little in the exchange that it would be worthwhile to rent the center for a few months. Even if Haywood would vault a team seemingly doomed to a first-round exit into the second round, it might not be worthwhile to sacrifice a key piece in a trade only to see Haywood walk.

For teams wanting Haywood, there?s the issue of what the Wizards will want in return. Considering the Wizards? lack of playoff ambitions in the near future, the logical reaction is to cut salaries and to acquire young talent. If a Haywood trade provides them with neither, they can merely let his contract expire and lose him for nothing. For the Wizards, then, it is paramount to either trade Haywood for a young player who can be a long-term starter, trade him for expiring contracts and draft picks, or, optimally, to do both at once.

The recent rumor that Washington offered Portland Haywood for Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum plays into this. Fernandez would be an immediate starter at shooting guard, Batum would be able to develop behind Butler while the latter is still in Washington, and the team wouldn?t even have to pay any more money.

The reason this trade couldn?t happen is that Portland already has two centers, Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla, who do roughly what Haywood does on the court. If the Blazers have any hope of resurrecting Oden?s career, having Haywood signed to a long-term deal this summer would provide a logjam in the middle. Otherwise, the Blazers would have to let Haywood go, and while Fernandez and Batum for Haywood might work as a long-term solution for a team in need of a center, it certainly doesn?t work as a rental.

The good news for a team bringing in Haywood is that should the team offer him the five-year, mid-level (approximately $6 million starting) contract he will probably garner this summer, is that his body should last. His 33.3 minutes per game this season is his only mark above thirty for his career, which also explains why his stats have soared. Without getting into the confusing mess as to why he?s never received this kind of action before, it?s been long overdue, and he?s finally getting the chance to prove himself.

It couldn?t have been timelier for the Wizards, who will want to bring back maximum value for him. It?s also a boon for any team looking to lock him up this summer, as there?s now overt proof of what has likely been a common inkling for years: that Haywood can put up double-digits rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

As the February 18th trade deadline approaches, there should be a multitude of suitors for Haywood. The teams to watch will be the ones that are in the playoff picture but are lacking interior defense, or that want to stabilize a young roster with a veteran big man.

The Jazz, for example, have Kyle Korver?s expiring contract, a New York Knicks first-round pick, and haven?t had a top-level post defender since Greg Ostertag. Carlos Boozer?s notoriously absent shot-blocking, Mehmet Okur?s uninspiring defense, and the simple fact that Paul Millsap and Andrei Kirilenko cap out at 6?7? and 6?9? respectively should show what a seven-footer like Haywood could add to that team.

The Thunder have Matt Harpring?s expiring contract, a stable of prospects and draft picks, and have been needing a defensive center ever since the botched Chandler trade last season. The Thunder?s four key players (Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and James Harden) are very young, none possessing more than two and a half years of NBA experience, whereas Haywood has been in the league for almost a decade.

Regardless of who trades for Haywood, if anyone does, there?s certainly a market for him. He?s still in his prime, has single-handedly anchored the Wizards? defense for years, and could allow teams to be a little riskier with their defensive philosophies. He would also be priceless to any Eastern team looking to match up with Dwight Howard or the Cavaliers? center tandem in the playoffs.

The question is what Washington is willing to accept. While the Fernandez/Batum demand appears lofty, it sends the message that offers for Haywood should be respectable. As with all initial offers, though, it?s almost certainly more than the Wizards will take should it come down to a last-minute phone call before the deadline.

What?s clear is that Haywood?s gone and the Wizards need young talent. What isn?t clear is how the Wizards will parlay their titan of the past and present into someone who can fit the team?s future.

Matthew Gordon can be reached at matthewpmgordon@gmail.com