NBA Rumors: Wizards hoping to sign David West
By Josh Hill
The Washington Wizards are hoping to sign veteran forward David West, who is leaving Indiana and could end up joining John Wall before the season starts.
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UPDATE [10:52am ET] — The Wizards are making a hard push for David West, according to Marc Stein from ESPN. Still, it appears that the frontrunners to sign the veteran forward are the San Antonio Spurs.
ESPN sources say Wizards pushing hard to land David West. Would be nice rally to get both Jared Dudley and D-West after losing Paul Pierce
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 3, 2015
But San Antonio remains firmly in David West hunt. Hearing Golden State now highly unlikely for D-West; looks like SA or DC are his spots
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 3, 2015
When the Washington Wizards somehow convinced Paul Pierce to sign with them last season, it instantly made the team better. John Wall and Bradley Beal started playing better, Marcin Gortat was more effective and even Nene was a better player than he was the year before.
Now that Piece is gone, the Wiz are looking for another wise old veteran to come in and play the role of mentor and talented teammate. According to David Aldridge from NBA.com and TNT, the Wizards are hoping to convince David West to sign with them.
All indications seem to be that West is indeed open to joining John Wall in Washington, but he’s going to wait on the LaMarcus Aldridge market first.
"Situation same as last night’s reporting re: Wiz/David West. They’d love to use MLE 4 him, but he’s scanning the post LaMarcus/Jordan field. — David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 3, 2015"
This is encouraging for the Wizards, who have yet to make any real splashes in free agency outside of a trade for Jared Dudley on Thursday afternoon.
Adding West could offset the loss of Paul Pierce, who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. It was Pierce who many are crediting with getting the Wizards into the shape they’re in now, as young stars such as Wall and Bradley Beal had a great impression left on them by Pierce.
Beyond the mentoring aspect of things, the Wizards could very much use the talents that West has at his disposal, as adding him at forward could give the Wizards a frontcourt boost they need heading into next season.