Washington Wizards: 5 players the Wizards need to target in free agency

Number 2: Hassan Whiteside

This would be a massive gamble by the Wizards. Hassan Whiteside has a well-earned reputation as a stat-hunting contract-year monster but it’s a gamble worth taking if the price is right. The silver lining for the Wizards is that if Whiteside goes back to his stat-hunting ways he at least hunts for blocks and rebounds, two areas where the Wizards are in desperate need of help. The Wizards averaged the 6th fewest blocks and the fewest rebounds of any team in the league. Even a half-engaged Whiteside would bump them up into the middle of the pack.

The downside with Whiteside is a real risk, but the upside could be magical. When engaged Whiteside can hold down the paint on defense and screen and roll with the best of them on offense. John Wall has never had a player as gifted, in the pick and roll, as Whiteside and could form a fantastic partnership with him.

Players that can average 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks don’t grow on trees. Whiteside, at his best, solves a lot of the Wizards problems. The question for the Wizards is how much will he cost?

Hassan Whiteside’s reputation and the direction of the league has likely cost him the chance at another max-contract. The question is how much will he cost to acquire? His free agency will be a proxy for how the league values traditional centers. The NBA is a copy-cat league and the NBA playoffs have only dampened people’s opinion of the traditional center.

Whiteside could find himself in a lukewarm market this free agency and the Wizards should pounce. The league is moving away from players like Whiteside but many of the Wizards problems could be covered up by him.