Washington Wizards: 3 ways Alex Len helps the Wizards
By Ethan Smith
Ways Alex Len will help the Washington Wizards: He’s Alive and Well!
The best ability is availability.
It may sounds ridiculous, but Alex Len being a healthy, able-bodied center is reason enough to justify this move by the Washington Wizards. When the Wizards lost Thomas Bryant for the season, it was obvious they needed to get creative to fill their frontcourt hole. Robin Lopez isn’t a starting caliber center, and Moritz Wagner’s limited play through the team’s first 11 games doesn’t scream confidence in the 23-year-old center. Wagner has averaged 13.0 minutes per game this season, but has shown up as a DNP more times (6) than he’s seen the court (5).Recently released Anzejs Pasecniks obviously wasn’t going to be the answer. Pasecniks logged just six minutes of action this season before he parted and the Wizards parted ways.
Before adding Len, the Wizards were down to basically just Robin Lopez. Moe Wagner has been one of the many Wizards in health and safety protocol and the team had resorted to power forward Bradley Beal. As the Wizards get closer to returning to action after what will be close to two weeks off, if not more, the Wizards needed frontcourt depth. In Len they get just that. And by signing him for the minimum, they get some center help without going into the luxury tax.
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Plus, they get a guy hungry to prove he still belongs in the NBA. The Wizards are now Len’s fourth team since the start of the 2019-20 season. That doesn’t exactly scream job security. With multiple offers available, Len chose the Wizards over other teams because he saw an opportunity in D.C. he didn’t see elsewhere. At 3-8, the Wizards could definitely use some of the urgency Len is sure to provide.