One of the biggest weaknesses for the Washington Wizards this past season was their lack of depth at the five. Despite Kristaps Porzingis and Daniel Gafford taking up a majority of the minutes at that position, it was still a major issue throughout the year.
Porzingis only played 65 games this season, while an incredible development for the injury prone big man, was still not helpful for this particular issue with the team. Another aggravating factor to this weakness was the tendency of both Porzingis and Gafford to get into foul trouble, especially against teams with quicker guards.
With neither of these two starting caliber centers able to consistently stay on the court for entire games, it leaves one player who picked up the minutes for them. That player is Taj Gibson, an undersized big who hasn’t contributed meaningful minutes to any team in quite a few years.
With this obvious issue, it would be smart for the Wizards to look into signing a backup center, preferably one who can be a defensive anchor for the team. This would also give them some more injury insurance as lessening their minutes in a position that plays more physically would also lessen their chances of injury.
One major setback in that plan, however, is the fact that the Wizards are not likely going to have much money to spend in free agency. Assuming they retain Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis on the contracts that they are expected to receive as well as keep their first-round draft pick, they are projected to have around $8 million to spend in total. This means they will likely have to look for players willing to take minimum or near minimum deals.
Jock Landale would be a fantastic backup center for the Washington Wizards
Landale has been the go to guy off the bench for Deandre Ayton this year for the Phoenix Suns. He is a skilled big man who isn’t afraid to get physical on defense. In their current series against the Denver Nuggets, he has had numerous instances where he seems to at least annoy Nikola Jokic, an incredible feat as Jokic is one of the most unstoppable offensive forces in the league when he wants to score.
While he may not be the greatest defensive player available, he can offer a large boost of energy off the bench and even make efforts to stretch the floor for players like Deni Avdija and Johnny Davis who may not be able to shoot the ball themselves.
Cody Zeller could give quality minutes to the Washington Wizards off the bench
Cody Zeller has been in the NBA since 2013 and has been at least a productive center off the bench every season of his career thus far, most of which was spent with the Charlotte Hornets.
The seven-footer is a quality rim protector and can make shots near the basket (he is shooting 66.7% from the field in the playoffs for the Miami Heat). He is a player who will mostly set screens and rebound the ball for his team in limited minutes.
For the Heat, he is playing around ten minutes per game, if he becomes a Wizard and he keeps those minutes, it will allow both Gafford and Porzingis the opportunity to play the five while also controlling the fouling to the two starters and hopefully fighting off injuries.
While the advanced stats don’t say much about Zeller, his impact stats are pretty neutral and his box plus minus is roughly where one could expect a player of his caliber to be. Overall, he would be a solid addition to the Wizards bench.
Nerlens Noel is the perfect center for the Washington Wizards
While there may be other names with a better reputation than Nerlens Noel, he is an incredibly valuable rim protector capable of transforming a teams defense off the bench. During his two seasons with the New York Knicks, he showed flashes of the player many thought he could be averaging 2.2 blocks and 6.4 rebounds per game in his first season.
He played a major role in the Knicks playoff berth as he took the place of Mitchell Robinson who missed most of the season due to injury. He was the anchor of that team and really the heart and soul of their defense.
Since then, he has seen a drastic reduction in minutes as Robinson has been healthy and he was traded to the Detroit Pistons who have a log jam at that position already and were trying to tank once Cade Cunningham went down with injury early in the year.
Noel is the perfect player for the Wizards as he would likely be willing to sign for under $8 million and he can be a rim protector. Earlier this season, the Wizards set the record for most points allowed in the paint, meaning that rim protection should be an area of concern in free agency.
Not only can Noel be a rim protector, but he can also be a lob threat for whoever the Wizards have at point guard next season, whether it be an incoming rookie, a newly acquired free agent, or Monte Morris.
All in all, if the Washington Wizards manage to sign one of these centers to relieve Daniel Gafford and Kristaps Porzingis for 10-15 minutes of game time, it will greatly benefit the team’s ability to rebound and defend the paint. Any of these options seem like the right kind of move for the Wizards goal of being competitive.