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NBA free agency is set to begin at 12:01 a.m. Monday morning, and it's clear the Washington Wizards will be pursuing a better backup point guard option to John Wall. With little money to play with, though, we probably shouldn't get our hopes up too much. The names mentioned by Michael Lee of the Washington Post in this story include Eric Maynor, Beno Udrih and John Lucas III.
The Wizards appear to be saving the mid-level exception for Martell Webster, so they're seeking players who will sign for the bi-annual exception or whatever is left over from the MLE depending on Webster's contract.
Maynor was traded from the Thunder to the Blazers last season at the deadline, but Portland elected to reject his qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He lost his rotation spot to Reggie Jackson in OKC before becoming Damian Lillard's backup late in the season. Maynor has a decent NBA pedigree, which is why I suggested possibly using a trade exception to acquire him in February, but he hasn't been the same player since tearing his ACL early in the 2011-12 season.
Udrih has been a solid offensive option everywhere he's gone, but is not a great defender. He was profiled here as part of our free agent series.
The Wizards nearly signed Lucas last summer, but moved on to A.J. Price once Lucas signed with the Raptors. Toronto declined his option recently, making him a free agent. Lucas is a shot-happy player that is not especially efficient.
It appears that this pursuit may end Price's time here. Lee reports that it's more likely the Wizards re-sign Garrett Temple than Price, in part because Temple will likely cost less.