FanPost

Five stretch four trade targets for the Wizards this offseason

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

This will be the summer of finding a stretch 4 for the Wizards and the topic went from a "desire" to an "ultimate need" moments after the season ended against the Hawks in heartbreaking fashion one week ago.

The concept of finding a stretch 4 in DC is somewhat ironic, considering Washington is one of the Founding Father's of developing this phenomenon. Antawn Jamison was a stretch 4 for the Wizards before the term "stretch 4" was ever coined. in fact, I'm sure you could link Jamison to being called amongst the league's first ever stretch 4's. How great would Jamison (in his prime of course) look as a Wizard now? He'd be the perfect fit! A double-double machine that can shoot from deep and clean the glass? Sure his defense always had room for improvement, but the guy had real skills and all of the internal intangibles that kept him in the league for a long time.

Before Jamison was a Wizard, Rasheed Wallace was a Bullet and he shocked everyone early into his rookie season when he started shooting threes (with little accuracy and that bad form). At that time big guys didn't shoot three-pointers and when they did, especially as a rookie, they typically found themselves on the bench, getting an earful from the coach, immediately after taking the attempt. This was the norm with Wallace and with his reputation proceeding him into the NBA, shooting threes didn't help his cause to be trusted by the franchise. After all, why would you want your big man taking shots this far away from the basket? Big guys shoot in the paint and everyone was searching for the next Karl Malone or Charles Barkley (who loved to shoot the 3, but did so with little accuracy).

With that history, the Wizards desperately need to make a shift to playing more analytical NBA basketball and attempt to find a big man that can do what Jamison did in DC a decade ago or what Wallace was on the verge of becoming nearly 20 years ago (damn!).

Clearly the draft presents an opportunity for them to find this type of player, but I have two reservations when it comes to using the draft to fill this need:

1. Do we trust EG to draft the right player? Most people would say "no" and with plenty of history to back it up.

2. Do the Wizards have time to wait for a rookie to develop into a reliable contributor? I'd say "no" to this one as well. This is a back-to-back 2nd round playoff team, with their young stars entering the prime of their careers. I know a lot of people are consumed by the #KD2DC idea, but what are those odds? 15-20%? The window is open now to compete in the East and a lot can change in a year, especially with league-wide shuffling expected in 2016 with the balloon in the salary cap.

That means trading for a stretch 4 seems like the best road to travel for the Wizards, especially if they retain EG since he's significantly better at making trades than he is at drafting players. So who should be on their radar?

1. Kelly Olynyk: I posted this idea in a different FanPost earlier in the week, but I'll throw it out again (since I really like it). Danny Ainge loves to make trades and their roster could really use a defensive minded center to anchor the middle. Rumors have them connected to Willie Cauley Stein and he's unlikely to fall to them at #16. However potentially the 16th and 19th picks packaged together could get them high enough to draft WCS.

The Fit: Olynyk shot 35% from 3PT range last season, making 61 or 175, with most of those from the elbows and the top of the key. He can pick and pop, but also isn't afraid to get dirty (just ask Kevin Love), so he's much more than just a finesse shooter. In Boston last season he was a 10-5 guy in 22 mpg. In DC he could continue his development and increase his PT since he could be paired with either Nene or Gortat next season, yet with a strong chance to become a starter the following season once Nene's massive contract finally expires.

2. Danilo Gallinari: Remember back to the 2012-13 season when it looked like Gallinari was on a path to stardom in Denver? It seems like forever ago that was the case, but all early offseason reports have Danilo ready to make a comeback next season. Gallinari is in the last season of a contract that will pay him $11.5 mil and I'm sure the Nuggets would love to move in a different and cheaper direction.

The Fit: Danilo can shoot and loves to shoot from deep as he shoots more three's than he does from the paint and while that could be considered problematic in other places, his range would certainly be welcomed here in DC. A career 37% 3PT shooter, Gallinari does his best work from the right corner, top of the key, and from the left elbow (40% from those zones). Still only 26 years old, in a contract year, and with something to prove, Gallinari could provide the Wizards with the shooting they're missing.

3. Thaddeus Young: Similar to Gallinari, Young is in the last year of his contract, assuming he picks up his $9.7 mil player option. The Nets were a different/better team once they acquired Young, as he helped get them into the playoffs, since it opened more space for Brooks Lopez in the middle. Sounds like a potentially similar situation in DC? Currently the Nets can't move forward until 2016, when Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and Young come off the books. Additionally the Nets had to swap 1st rd picks with the Hawks (Johnson deal) and won't pick until #29, so either they ride it out one more year or try to be proactive and Young is the only moveable player of those three listed earlier.

The Fit: Young isn't a great 3 point shooter, but his athleticism puts him in the "stretch" category. Soon to be 27 years old, Young is a career 32% 3PT shooter and on average has taken less than 1.5 3PTa p/game. However I'm a believer that you don't have to be a Ryan Anderson type (volume 3pt shooter) to be considered a stretch 4. Young can still stretch the floor on 2-3 3PTa and has the ability to drive past most PF's attempting to guard him 20+ feet from the rim. Additionally the Wizards have gotten where they are based on playing team defense. Young isn't the ideal shooter, but he's a great defender, and thus with Young on the Wiz, they wouldn't be sacrificing what they've built on the defensive side of the court.

4. Josh McRoberts: McBob was a popular name thrown around last summer (I was a big fan of signing him), but he got a lot more money than expected (full MLE) from the Heat, as he thought he'd be playing alongside LeBron James. Obviously a lot changed with LBJ went to Cleveland and McBob missing the most of the season with a torn meniscus. So where does that leave him, the Heat, and their future together? The Heat will continue to try and build with younger players around Wade/Bosh and resign Dragic, making a vet like McBob expendable, especially when he's making $5 mil for the next three seasons.

The Fit: McRoberts is not only a great shooter and passer, but he's a guy that opponents and their fans hate to play against. He's not Rick Mahorn, but he seems to have prided himself on shedding that all American good boy persona that comes with playing at Duke University. McRoberts is a career 35% 3PT shooter, but his averages have been increasing significantly over the past few seasons.

5. Ryan Anderson: Once considered "the poor man's Kevin Love", Anderson is a volume shooting PF, who's going to launch half a dozen 3PTa every game. However he's entering the final season of the big contract he got in New Orleans that will pay him $8.5 mil next season. That's a lot of money to pay a reserve for the Pelicans, especially with Omer Aski hitting the open market and how Asik really helped Anthony Davis' incredible improvement this past season.

The Fit: If you want a text book stretch 4, Anderson is just that. His 35% shooting from the elbows is where he does his best work and that's typically on pick and pops, something that would certainly work in DC with John Wall. Defensively Anderson can be a liability, but it's his shooting that will keep him on the court.

In a dream world the Wizards could still hang onto the 19th pick and use that to draft a guard, since that's where they can afford to be more patient with a developing player, but if that's what it takes to get one of these guys (Josh McRoberts not included), I think it would be worth it.

Which of these "stretch 4's" would be the best fit in DC and what would you be willing to trade in order to acquire them?

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.