Wizards to re-sign Drew Gooden III, pursue additional wing player

With LaMarcus Aldridge signing with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, some of you may have assumed that David West will sign with the Wizards shortly thereafter. However, the Spurs are pursuing West with the minimum, while the Wizards are throwing the mid-level exception at him, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post:

#Wizards are offering the midlevel. https://t.co/295LkvafAA

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) July 4, 2015

While West's situation gets resolved, the Wizards are making some contingency moves by re-signing Drew Gooden III and shoring up the wing positions, according to TNT's David Aldridge:

While continuing to monitor David West pursuit, Wizards moving on to re-sign Drew Gooden and add wing player, per sources.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 4, 2015

Gooden has evolved to become a serviceable stretch power forward, where he made 39 percent (23 of 59 shots in 51 games) of his threes in the regular season, and 46.2 percent of his threes (12 of 26 shots in 10 games) in the postseason. Even though his numbers are promising and welcome, Gooden is now past his prime, and he is not as talented as West is.

In regard to adding a wing player, the Wizards have already made a move by signing Gary Neal to a one-year deal and they traded for Jared Dudley can also play the small forward position. But could Washington swing for the fences by finding another deal out there for a wing player?

According to Alex Kennedy of BasketballInsiders.com, the Clippers are looking for a replacement center in light of DeAndre Jordan's departure to the Dallas Mavericks. One player they are willing to give up is Jamal Crawford, who makes about the same amount as the mid-level exception.

One executive I spoke to speculated that the Clippers may shop Jamal Crawford (who's owed $5,675,000) as they look for a replacement center.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 4, 2015

I really like Crawford's offensive game, and he'll provide a spark off the bench for Washington immediately. There are certainly concerns about his individual defense. However, the Wizards have been able to manage as a team on that end of the floor even though John Wall is their only All-Defense selection over the past several seasons.

I'm not saying that the Wizards are dead set on acquiring Crawford or that they should make a move for him. But the Wizards could be in a position to get Crawford if they want him.

If the Wizards do want Crawford, they could offer someone like Kevin Seraphin to them in a sign-and-trade scenario, assuming Seraphin wants to play for the Clippers. The move would give L.A. a young center who could be a starter for them in the years ahead, while the Wizards get a veteran guard who can prevent offensive droughts that they have been prone to a little more than I would like.

At the end of the day, the Wizards are still waiting on what to do in regards to David West, but they are also trying to be flexible to make moves if he isn't there. Since there's so much information going around, much of which can change quickly, that's the right thing to do.