Washington Wizards Free Agency 2016: Potential Targets, Guards and Forwards Remaining
By Ben Mehic
The Washington Wizards need to add a wing player to their roster before the end of the 2016 NBA Free Agency period.
We’re four days into the NBA Free Agency period and the league looks completely different than it did just a week ago.
The Washington Wizards hoped to land a max free agent and were incredibly close to signing Al Horford, who opted to join the Boston Celtics instead.
Ernie Grunfeld then went the depth route, adding several pieces to Washington’s bench to solidify their second unit.
Ian Mahinmi, Andrew Nicholson, Trey Burke and Tomas Satoransky are all new faces that will be heading to the district.
With Mahinmi and Nicholson in the fold, the Wizards have pretty much completed their front court. Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat will remain in the starting lineup and the two new additions will become the primary backups.
Washington still has a few holes to fill, though.
Satoransky, who played point guard for Barcelona, is 6’7″ and will probably spend time at multiple positions under Scott Brooks.
Burke will be given the chance to compete for the backup role too, but we can assume it will ultimately go to Satoransky, who the team has wanted to sign since 2012.
The team can still use some help in the back court, and given that their front court is set, the Wizards will probably use the remaining $6 million in cap to add a wing player.
I came up with a list of players that could potentially be on the Washington Wizards’ radar:
Kevin Durant
He just signed with the Golden State Warriors. Should I even bother continuing to write this?
Gerald Henderson
Garrett Temple agreed to a $24 million deal with the Sacramento Kings on Sunday and Henderson is probably the better player. There’s a chance that he’ll be out of the Wizards’ price range, but he’s still available.
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Washington needs to get a backup for Bradley Beal.
Henderson helped the Portland Trail Blazers become a playoff team this past season and he’s a known Wizard killer.
Henderson isn’t much of a threat from deep, but he’s solid from mid-range, slashes well and defends the perimeter.
Washington could do much worse.
Plus, he seems like a great teammate and would fill a leadership void.
Alan Anderson
Washington still has the room exception, which is worth just under $3 million, so Anderson could return to D.C. for that amount.
Personally, I wouldn’t re-sign Anderson for the following reasons: he’s old, only played in 13 games this past season and shot a career-low from the field. But, he’s familiar with the area and John Wall loves him.
Out of all the listed names, I think Anderson is the safest bet to return.
Seth Curry
The Kings rescinded Curry’s qualifying offer on Sunday, making him an unrestricted free agent.
He’s bounced around the league quite a bit, even spending time with his brother in Golden State, but he finally did enough to earn a spot this past season.
Curry averaged 7 points with the Kings and made 45 percent of his 3-point shots.
Besides Beal, the Washington Wizards don’t have a true threat from three. They’re going to miss Jared Dudley and Gary Neal‘s shooting. Curry could help fill that void.
He’s also capable of playing at both guard spots.
Maurice Harkless
The Washington Wizards were reportedly interested in Moe Harkless, and he’s still unsigned.
Harkless is a below-average shooter, but he’s already a very solid defender and rebounder.
At 6’9″, Harkless has the size to defend most positions. The Wizards have lacked a lock-down defender since Trevor Ariza joined the Houston Rockets several years ago.
Harkless is someone the Wizards could depend on for defense and would likely be a bargain at $6 million.
Lance Stephenson
Stephenson was one of the most highly-regarded guards in the NBA just a few years ago. After accepting a large deal from the Charlotte Hornets, Stephenson kind of fell back down to earth. And by “kind of,” I mean he became virtually unplayable.
He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers less than a year into his career with the Hornets, and then he was shipped from Los Angeles to the Memphis Grizzlies just months after that.
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He’s played for three teams in two seasons and now he’s a free agent likely looking at his fourth team.
He’s a wildcard, for sure.
He made 35 percent of his threes with Memphis, which is better than his career-average, but you can’t count on Stephenson for shooting.
But, he’s a solid defender, rebounds well for his position and can create looks. Washington needs a creator.
Perhaps Scott Brooks can get the most out of Stephenson in D.C.
Ian Clark
Clark, who was a part of the historically great Warriors team this past season, is on the market.
He’s basically a prototypical combo guard. He made 44 percent of his shots last year and 36 percent of his looks from deep.
At 6’3″, he’s long enough to defend both guard spots and can play a similar role as Temple did under Randy Wittman.
Leandro Barbosa
Another Warriors guy, Barbosa was traded to the Washington Wizards a few years ago for Jordan Crawford. Barbosa, who was dealing with an ACL injury at the time, never actually suited up for the Wizards. I don’t think he ever even showed up to Washington, to be honest.
He’s old and father time might catch up to him soon, but he did show some flashes of The Vintage Blur during the NBA Finals.
Barbosa showed that even at 33-years-old, he can still score the ball. Washington lacks scoring on the bench and Barbosa could provide that.
Wayne Ellington
Ellington is another player who could give Washington some shooting off the bench. The Wizards had interest in Ellington a few years ago and he still fills a need.
He’s a career 38 percent 3-point shooter. Ellington is only 28, so he wouldn’t break down before the end of the season like we’ve become accustomed to seeing.
Kevin Martin
Martin has also been on Washington’s radar for quite some time.
He’s 33-years-old, can’t play defense and isn’t efficient any more. He made just 37 percent of his shots last season, got waived by the Minnesota Timberwolves and was signed by the San Antonio Spurs at the end of the season.
In spurts, though, Martin would be an okay option to have off the bench, just like Neal was this past season.
He can still shoot the ball. He’s also familiar with Brooks having played under him in Oklahoma City.
Kevin Durant
Next: Breakdown of the Remaining Wizards Targets
No, he’s not coming. He’s in Golden State and we’re all doomed now.