I like what we have, but we still need more inside

I was at the game against Cleveland on Saturday night. I gotta say, I liked what I saw. Gil was unconscious, Brendan showed some attitude by handing Damon Jones the ball after blocking his shot and Jamison came up with some nice steals. What impressed me most though, was DeShawn Stevenson. He looked confident and more than competent.

He seemed to be in the right place at the right time all night and he did a fantastic job when he was put on LeBron. I can't say how great it is that we have a player like him that we're only paying a mil per year for. So, I was very happy with the Wizards on Saturday night, but it is still pretty obvious that we have zero inside presence. The guys missed a ton of layups and they just got muscled all night. So what does Grunfeld do about that? I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: the second round is the ceiling for this team until it gets a legitimate inside player. Of course, that's easier said than done.

Grunfeld, even though he overpaid, was smart in getting Darius Songaila. Although I have a strange feeling that in four years I'm going to read that last sentence again and shake my head. Anyways, Songaila was a nice pick up, but he's not the answer. He's a start, but we need more. The Wiz need someone who is going to get the tough rebound when we really need it. The guy who is going to pound inside and create space for our perimeter game. We need someone who is going to toughen this team up. To address this we could either turn to the draft, free agency or trading. The draft is too uncertain and generally takes a few years to really see results. There aren't really any great bigs in the free agent class of 2007. So that leaves us with trading. So, let's take a look at our assets.

We've got first and second round picks that could always be part of a deal. Then, here are the guys that I'd be willing to part with: Jamison, Etan, Haywood, Blatche, Pecherov, Hayes, Ruffin and Donell Taylor. I'd be willing to let Jamison go, because we presumably would be getting a power forward in return and Jamison also has a big contract. I'd be willing to give away Blatche and Pecherov because this squad might be ready to really win before either of those guys are ready. Anyways, here are the targets that we ought to be looking at:

Kevin Garnett – I'm not going to bother going in to all the ways in which he could help this team. He's a stud and he's going to be traded. Minnesota needs to blow things up and start over, so they might welcome something like Jamison, Blatche, Pecherov, a future 1st rounder and maybe a couple 2nd round picks.

David West – He's tough and is a solid rebounder. He is much more of an inside player than Jamison, as well as being much younger.

Zaza Pachulia – Not quite in the same class as the first two, but he could probably be had for relatively little. He could be an upgrade in the middle for sure. Possibly not enough of an upgrade though.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim – Pretty good perimeter player, but he can clearly play down low, as evidenced by his playing center this season for the Kings. I like him, but I'm not sure exactly how much he would help this team.

Brad Miller – He has a pretty big contract, but he is a very good rebounder, he's tough and he's a good passer. In addition, he can shoot three's and score in the post. I'm having a hard time thinking of a reason not to make a move to get him, unless of course we can land Garnett. Something like Jamison and Haywood for Miller, Corliss Williamson and Francisco Garcia. Jamison's probably wouldn't be a big deal to them, seeing as how he has two years left on his, to Miller's five. And we could always throw in a draft pick or something. The more I look at this deal, the better I like it. (Realgm.com's trade checker approves this deal).

So once again, we need an inside player. I'm voting right now for Garnett, but if we can't get him, let's make a run at Brad Miller.