Wizards Need To Focus Efforts On Getting David West

By Josh Wilson | Jul 6, 2015

Mar 14, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) reacts after he cannot come up with a deflected pass against the Boston Celtics at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Boston defeats Indiana 93-89. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

David West has made headlines as the 2015 NBA free agency frenzy has gotten underway. The Washington Wizards have been mentioned as a team that’s gotten his attention, and there’s plenty that points to him being exactly what they need to be one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference next season.

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West denied his player option with the Indiana Pacers this offseason, making him one of the veterans available in the free agency market. The Pacers had been contenders with West on the roster in past years, but since have withered away to not being much of anything, even in the Eastern Conference.

It was clearly a better option for West to look for work in other places, since he made it clear in a radio interview he’d rather contend than make more money.

"“I’m just not sure the Pacers are in title contention right now. I’m going into my 13th season. I’ll be 35 soon. When I got to Indiana, there was hope of getting there and we played at a really high level for a couple of years. But I just don’t know if the team is in the position to win right now and I didn’t know if I’d have that opportunity to win a title if I’d stayed with the Pacers.”"

But why do the Wizards need him? Well, their offseason certainly hasn’t gone exactly to plan in the past few days. After Paul Pierce didn’t take his player option to return to Washington, he decided to agree on terms of a contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, and cut his time with the Wizards after just one season.

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Losing Pierce stings. Not only do they lose a player who averaged 11.9 points per game during the regular season, 14.6 per game during the playoffs, and a player who was a huge factor late in games during the postseason, they lose a veteran presence in the locker room.

Pierce got better at making longer range shots as the year progressed too, taking a whopping 64 percent of his shots in the playoffs from beyond the three-point line.

See where I’m going with this? West fits into these categories pretty well. Actually, very well.

West functions as a forward, and can play power forward or small forward. This fits the Wizards’ needs well, as they’re looking for a stretch four. They need someone who can take shots with some range.

As shown in this highlight video, range is no problem for West. The stats show this as well.

Last season, 48.5 percent of his shots were past 16 feet. Between 16 feet and the three-point line, he shot with accuracy at 50.2 percent.

The need for a stretch-four doesn’t need to be explained in-depth. With guards like John Wall and Bradley Beal, stretching the defense to give them more room to work is just obviously a good thing.

As far as veteran presence goes, he can bring this as well. Sure, he might not be as well recognized of a name as Pierce, and may not have as much experience, but he’s still been in the league for 12 years. He’s no youngster.

And with the Pacers’ success in the past few years, he does have playoff wisdom he can bring along with him.

Unfortunately, the race to win West over is not an easy one. There are plenty of teams looking to add his experience and shot range to their roster. The Clippers have been brought up, and so have the Cleveland Cavaliers. But one team really threatens the Wizards’ chances at winning over West, and that is the San Antonio Spurs.

Spurs are aggressively pursuing free agent David West with a veteran minimum offer now, sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2015

The Spurs have had a busy offseason already, chasing after their veterans to make sure they stay. It appears to be a push for one last championship with many of their veteran players who have been through a lot together. They also signed LaMarcus Aldridge to a large deal.

The Wizards will likely offer West more money than the Spurs, who offered West the veteran minimum. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that matters much to West, who has been vocal about his want to contend being more important than money.

What they can offer him is a young squad, willing to intently listen to any wisdom West can bring. They can contend next year, and West can be a leading factor in that contention in the Eastern Conference. With the squad they have now, they can certainly make their mark in the East.

Sure, they don’t have the track record that Gregg Popovich and the Spurs have with all the titles they’ve won in the past decade. But they can offer a young environment that could utilize his skill set and possibly give him more minutes than the Spurs can.

I, for one, think West in a Wizards uniform would be a beautiful thing both for Washington and for David as he looks towards a final push at the end of his career.

Next: 2015 Free Agency Tracker

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