Fansided

2016 NBA Free Agency: 1 move every team needs to make to be contenders

By Daniel Rowell

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
31 of 31
Next
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 05: Harrison Barnes #40 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after he made a three-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves at ORACLE Arena on April 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 05: Harrison Barnes #40 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after he made a three-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves at ORACLE Arena on April 5, 2016 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Washington Wizards

Pour some out for the Wizards. They’ve spent the better half of the past two years preparing the cap space and talent to surround the KD2DC hype-train for a planned arrival. Instead, Durant, the hometown hero they hoped would try and follow LeBron’s narrative and go home, opted out of any meeting with the Wizard’s front office. He didn’t want to get the fans hopes up anymore. Durant isn’t ready to play for DC, he just wants to be a fan for DC teams, and that’s a tough reality to face for the Wizards fanbase.

Now they’ve got an unhappy John Wall that has failed to make all-star celebrity player status in DC. (I’m also sure he didn’t enjoy getting put in a second-fiddle role behind the KD2DC train.) And they have Bradley Beal, who has shown both promise and a very concerning injury history, looking for a max deal. The Wizards also gave up a first round pick for Markieff Morris, but still failed to make the playoffs. It wasn’t a good season for the Wizards.

So what now? Well, you likely have to re-sign Beal to a max, but you also have a ton of cap space that was earmarked for KD. You could either wait until next year or break up the KD funds for a couple of role players – perhaps Harrison Barnes and Ryan Anderson. Barnes is a restricted free agent and didn’t look great in the Finals, but he still is under 25 and could fit well beside Wall. Anderson is a stretch four that gives you some of the things you miss out on with KD2DC (just not much defense). This option would likely cost a lot but could be worth it to keep Wall happy and build around him.

For more NBA coverage, be sure to visit our hub page.

Home/NBA