NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason targets for the Washington Wizards
By John Buhler
The Washington Wizards are coming off one of their better seasons in recent memory. Here are five players they need to look at heading into free agency.
The Washington Wizards had themselves a fine 2016-17 NBA season. Washington went 49-33 during the regular season, winning their first division crown since they were known as the Washington Bullets. The Wizards knocked off the division rival Atlanta Hawks in the first round in six games, taking the conference rival Boston Celtics in the Conference Semifinals to seven games before falling.
Washington proved to the NBA that it can win big games at home and that it has a strong starting five centered around point guard John Wall and shooting guard Bradley Beal. That being said, Washington has by far and away one of the worst benches in the NBA. It is not conducive to winning multiple playoff series, as the Wizards star players start to tire in winning time of important fourth quarters.
While Washington will look to get better this offseason, it will not be easy thanks to a few tough contracts in the frontcourt. Washington will have to navigate free agency despite paying too much money to centers Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi.
Don’t expect Washington to be a huge player in free agency this summer, but a few well-calculated moves could help them get ever closer to the Eastern Conference Finals. Here are the five players that Washington should target this July in free agency.
Brandon Jennings
Point Guard, Washington Wizards
One of the position groups that Washington needs to get better at is backup point guard. We all know how gifted Wall is at running the point, especially when he goes up-tempo in transition. However, Washington honestly cannot afford to have Wall riding pine for a second in the playoffs.
Last season, Washington orchestrated a trade with the New York Knicks to land backup point guard Brandon Jennings. The thought was that Jennings would become that sixth man floor general Washington desperately needed to win when Wall or Beal were off the court. It didn’t turn out so great for Jennings, but there is reason to believe that he’ll be better in 2017-18.
Keep in mind that Jennings has bounced around the last two years in the NBA. He has been on four teams since the start of the 2015-16 NBA season (Detroit, Orlando, New York and Washington). Though he only averaged 4.7 assists and 3.5 points for Washington, he only played in 23 games for the Wizards.
Perhaps stability would be the biggest factor in Jennings being able to recapture some of his Milwaukee Bucks magic from his early days as an NBA player? Either way, Jennings could be a high value signing this summer. He won’t command a ton of cash and Washington is essentially operating on a shoestring budget to fix its bench this offseason anyway.