Washington Wizards Miss Out On Al Horford, Signs With Boston Celtics
By Ben Mehic
The Washington Wizards missed out on Al Horford, who decided to sign with the Boston Celtics instead
The Washington Wizards just missed out on their second top target, Al Horford.
After landing a meeting with Horford, the Wizards were reportedly a frontrunner with the Boston Celtics to sign the former Atlanta Hawks star.
The Boston Celtics, who met with the Kevin Durant on Saturday, were able to convince Horford to sign with them.
Full max: four years, $113 million for Al Horford in Boston. An enormous pickup to say the least for the Celtics.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 2, 2016
Washington has now missed out on all of their top targets, including Ryan Anderson, who signed with the Houston Rockets earlier on Saturday.
The reasons why Horford picked the Celtics over the Wizards are pretty clear.
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The Celtics hope to convince Durant to sign with them too, adding another star to their impressive core group.
On top of that, Horford, like many other free agents, is fond of head coach Brad Stevens.
That was the deciding difference, even though the Wizards currently have more talent than the Celtics on paper.
As Ward Watkins pointed out, the Wizards could look to fill their remaining cap space – all $30+ million of it – through trade or by acquiring depth pieces via free agency.
Most fans wanted the Wizards to swing on a top free agent. They did and they missed.
In terms of game-changing talent, there isn’t much left on the market. The Wizards could try to add a difference maker via trade. The likes of Rudy Gay, Kenneth Faried and Greg Monroe are all on the market. Washington has enough room to add a player via trade without giving up a real asset.
The better way to improve the roster might be to add depth pieces.
Washington has to get better defensively and they’re reportedly interested in Maurice Harkless and Ian Mahinmi. While neither player is a household name, they could provide solid minutes off the bench for Scott Brooks.
Admittedly, this is incredibly disappointing.
Washington would have catapulted atop the East if they were able to sign Horford. Now they’re stuck with the same starting lineup as they had this past season.
Their only way to improve is to develop internally. Bradley Beal, Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre, in particular, all have to become significantly better than they were last year in order for the Wizards to get better.
Ernie Grunfeld has yet to sign an unfamiliar face this summer. Day-two of NBA Free Agency is almost over. You can expect the team to start ramping up their pursuit of players. It’ll be interesting to see which route they take.
Next: Free Agents Left for the Wizards
This summer hasn’t went very well for the Wizards. Let’s see how the team reacts.