Kevin Durant's camp eviscerating any hope the Wizards would have the opportunity to sign him this offseason was not fun, but it was a positive for the Wizards.
With their sights off of Durant, they had to move quickly elsewhere. And apparently they've set their top targets for when Friday's free agency frenzy begins. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Wizards' top targets are Al Horford, Ryan Anderson and Nic Batum.
Names that keep coming up as top targets for the Wizards in free agency, league sources say, are Al Horford, Ryan Anderson and Nicolas Batum
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 29, 2016
The Wizards were previously connected to both Horford and Anderson by various reports, but this is the first time it has been reported that they have interest in Nicolas Batum.
As we pointed out earlier this week, Horford would be a great fit with the team and may be able to play in the same front court as Marcin Gortat. Anderson seems to be a more easily acquired target, but wouldn't be as good a fit on the team and would likely play with their second unit.
Batum would be a great fit with Washington because of his versatility on both ends of the floor and his playmaking ability, but he seems to want to remain in Charlotte and many signs point to him doing that.
Horford and Batum will likely command max dollars and Anderson will probably be just under the max amount, so bringing in two of these three players is not a realistic conclusion one should think about. But having either Horford or Batum would be a great step up for a roster without a clear second max player behind John Wall.
Stein also noted that the Wizards will move quickly to enter negotiations with Bradley Beal on his new deal. But the sides probably won't formally put ink to paper until they either lose out on all of their targets or sign one of those three.
Either way, Friday will be a very interesting day in Washington.