Washington Wizards Still Have Cap Room To Add Maximum Contract Free Agent

The Washington Wizards probably could have gotten Dwight Howard at the trade deadline, but instead they chose to add Markieff Morris to the mix. There is a reason for this. Howard has made it clear that he intends to opt out of the final year of his contract, and this is what caused many teams to shy away from him.

The Wizards are obviously hoping that a certain someone named Kevin Durant gets inspired by LeBron James‘ decision to return home, but that doesn’t seem likely at this point. If you had asked NBA analysts about this possibility after the Wizards’ run in last year’s playoffs, then it would have been a different story. But Washington’s struggles this season make it far from a sure thing. They will be lucky to make the postseason, and they must go on a long winning streak to even have a chance at the No. 8 seed.

There are some other appealing options for the Wizards in free agency this summer, though. Al Horford in particular is an interesting one, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the big man was intrigued by playing with a point guard like John Wall. Bradley Beal makes the Wizards attractive as well, although he must figure out a way to stay on the court more consistently.

Their cap room will enable them to take on a $25 million per year salary according to the Washington Post; however, this is assuming the team doesn’t re-sign Nene, Jared Dudley, Ramon Sessions, Alan Anderson, Gary Neal and Garrett Temple. Some other guys on the market this summer are DeMar DeRozan, Nicolas Batum and Mike Conley, but a lot of media people are saying that there is no way Conley will leave Marc Gasol in the rearview mirror. Also, Conley isn’t the best fit on a team that already features Wall. It will certainly be an important summer for a Washington franchise that hasn’t had this much talent in years, and they could vault themselves into Eastern Conference contention with the right moves.