Washington Wizards Meet With Free Agent Al Horford
By Ben Mehic
The Washington Wizards reportedly met with their top target, free agent big man Al Horford
The Washington Wizards couldn’t even land a meeting with Kevin Durant, who they’ve been clearing cap room for over the past several years.
Then they scheduled a phone conversation with Nicolas Batum.
Batum re-signed with the Charlotte Hornets on the first day of free agency.
The Wizards haven’t had much luck with getting in touch with their top targets – well, until now.
According to the man named Woj, the Wizards met with Al Hoford recently.
Sources: Free agent Al Horford held four meetings today -- including Houston, Washington -- and plans to make a decision over weekend.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2016
Washington is selling the idea of playing along side John Wall and Bradley Beal to Al Horford.
Right now, it seems like the Wizards are a darkhorse for Horford. The Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks are all interested in Horford.
Now that the Hawks have signed Dwight Howard, the fit for Horford in Atlanta seems awkward.
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Theoretically, since Horford does have experience playing the four and could space the floor, Atlanta could play the two big men together.
However, their spacing will inevitably suffer, even if Horford can hit the outside shot on a more consistent basis than most bigs.
Boston lacks talent on paper, but they’ve accumulated enough assets to entice top free agents. I’ve been told by a former Wizards player that head coach Brad Stevens is very intriguing to players.
He has a Gregg Popovich-like effect on talent. The Celtics hope to convince Horford to sign, then bring him along to a meeting with Kevin Durant.
It’s exciting that the Washington Wizards landed a meeting with a top free agent, but it’s also important not to get too optimistic.
Traditionally, the Wizards haven’t had much luck getting top talent in free agency. It’s been a very long time since they signed a marquee player on the market.
Assuming Horford chooses the Wizards – which, again, is a slight possibility – the team would have to likely make some moves.
Horford could share the court with Marcin Gortat, but just like with Howard, the spacing would be off. John Wall and Bradley Beal need room to create. A Horford and Gortat front court would restrict Washington’s guards from getting looks inside.
On the flip side, a Horford and Markieff Morris combination could have a similar effect as the Horford and Paul Millsap combo did in Atlanta.
Both players can pass the ball well for bigs, shoot from the outside and score inside the paint. It would take a ton of pressure off Wall on the offensive end of the floor.
Next: Wizards Free Agency: Top Available Targets
Horford will likely make his decision this weekend. Again – it’s too early to get excited. We’ll just have to see if the Wizards were convincing enough for Horford.