The Washington Wizards continue to search through free agency add to their team. Unfortunately, they have seemingly struck out in every imaginable way. And it’s not for a lack of trying, however, it may be due to their past salary cap missteps, leaving them with little room to negotiate. With DeMarcus Cousins and Nerlens Noel off the market and Dwight Howard pleading his case to play with LeBron James, the Wizards may have to turn to alternative options. One of those options is Alex Len.
However, the former Maryland product may be out of the Wizards’ price range. According to Chris Miller of NBC Sports Washington, Len is asking for more money than the Wizards are willing to offer.
“My sources are telling me that Alex Len wants way more money than the Wizards are willing to offer so he could potentially be out of here — not an option,” Miller said during Wizards Tipoff podcast. “Dwight Howard could still be in play, potentially, if he can get a buyout from Brooklyn and he signs a veteran minimum.”
The NBA salary cap rules are complicated, but at the present time the Wizards only have their mid-level exception to offer players. They acquired Thomas Bryant off waivers from the Los Angeles Lakers and his salary will be guaranteed on Thursday of close to $1.4 million. Washington does not have much money to spare and could be measuring around trying to avoid a luxury tax penalty. If so, depending on what Len is seeking, the Wizards are not going to budge.
Where does that leave, the Wizards remains to be seen. They just gained another position at backup power forward when Mike Scott signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. They’ll need to make consider how much they are use on another center and filling Scott’s role. With $5.3 million (at present time) remaining in cap space, general manager Ernie Grunfeld is sure to take calculated steps in using the available amount.
