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The Washington Wizards are making a push to sign free agent forward David West, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. The Warriors are now considered a long shot to land West, so Washington's main competition for his services are the Spurs.
West opted out of a very lucrative deal with the Pacers to enter free agency and join a contender. The list of teams he was willing to join was short but it apparently includes the Wizards, who made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals and put up a fight against the Hawks despite an injury to John Wall. They are a definitely a team on the upswing who could make the conference finals if nothing goes terribly wrong next year.
At a quick glance West is not the best fit in Washington because the Wizards already have their starting big man duo comprised of Nene and Marcin Gortat. There have been reports, however, that the Brazilian big man is being shopped, with the front office hoping they can trade him without taking salary back. West could step right into the starting power forward slot next to Gortat if that were to happen and Washington will likely still have room to make another addition.
The Wizards have been active in the offseason so far, trying to improve their talent level and depth. They recently added Jared Dudley to fill the void left by the exit of Paul Pierce on the court and West could replace The Truth as the veteran leader in the locker room.
Washington has the full mid-level exception to offer right now, which is more than the Warriors could spend on West and potentially more than the Spurs could offer, provided they sign LaMarcus Aldridge. If Nene is moved without taking salary back, they could have $10-12 million in cap space, depending on where the cap is set.
West averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 29 minutes per game for Indiana last season.