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NBA Free Agency: Ian Mahinmi signs four year, $64 million deal with Wizards

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NBA: Playoffs-Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Wizards wasted no time moving on from Al Horford on to Plan C. Less than an hour after Horford announced he was going to Boston, Ian Mahinmi tweeted this:

Shortly after, the details came in, and they’re pretty big:

The Wizards reportedly expressed interested in Ian Mahinmi on Friday, so this news doesn’t come as a surprise. But as we noted on Friday, handing Mahinmi a long-term isn’t exactly ideal:

He turns 30 in November, so he doesn’t really help the team get much younger at the center position. He also played through a bevy of injuries last season, as Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star detailed.

While it’s encouraging to see that he was able to play well through pain last season, the hard truth is it gets harder to keep doing that as you get older, and that’s exactly what the Wizards would be investing in if they signed him to a deal.

Now the question is: Who is the starting center? Mahinmi will make more than Marcin Gortat, but the cap has gone up quite a bit. It will be interesting to see whether Scott Brooks emphasizes Gortat’s pick-and-roll skills or Mahinmi’s rim protection as paramount moving forward.

More to come.