The Washington Wizards have become the latest team in a long line of suitors for forward Ryan Anderson.
Anderson is a veteran who is about to cash in on the salary cap spike and the "stretch four" trend. RyNo was probably one of the first stretch fours in the league and head coach Stan Van Gundy, when they were still with the Orlando Magic really groomed him for the part opposite Dwight Howard.
Now, the Washington Wizards are rumored to have the intention of reuniting him with another member of that 2009 Magic Finals team, Marcin Gortat in the frontline of the Wizards, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
"The Washington Wizards are looking for some change and are trying to shake loose a difference maker at the deadline," Kyler said. "The Wizards have not gotten a lot of traction in talks, with sources saying they feel like the real conversations will take place next week as the deadline gets closer. The Wizards are looking for help at the power forward spot and a stretch-four type player is very appealing."
Anderson was one of three players named as targets, the others being PJ Tucker and Trevor Booker.
Some sectors of the Wizards fan base are hesitant to support the decision to trade for him. One of the main reasons is that Anderson is about to become a free agent. For one thing, Anderson will not compromise their cap flexibility for next season as the Wizards are still hoping to get Kevin Durant. This was discussed by team site Bullets Forever.
Since Anderson has been a publicized target of many teams, there might be a bidding war for his services and the Wizards may have to part with a real piece, like Kelly Oubre, for example, to acquire him. This would be a waste of resources should RyNo decide to bolt.
They are also wary of the possibility that their team might overpay him just to keep him, in light of the assets they surrendered to acquire his services.
"Still, the scariest scenario could wind up being what happens if the Wizards trade for Anderson and decide to keep him," Bullets Forever stated. "Anderson will be in high demand, and Washington could trick themselves into overpaying him to make sure they don't lose him for nothing."
The bottom line is that the Wizards need to make changes or else, they may just give up on trying to make the playoffs-which could also mean they're giving up on trying to attract Kevin Durant because why would he leave OKC to join a lottery team?