Washington Wizards: Marc Gasol
The Wizards are the Jekyll and Hyde of the league. They are consistent in only one aspect: that they play down to their opponents. On paper, this team is the second most talented team in the East behind the Cavs and have a backcourt that ranks just slightly behind the Splash Bros.
They should be the clear cut challenger to Cleveland’s reign in the East and match up the best against them. As presently constructed, they could push the Cavs to six or seven games before falling short. Wall and Beal are brilliant at times, but too often get careless down the stretch of close games or find themselves in dogfights against the bottom feeders of the league.
Scott Brooks has done a decent job of implementing a system in Washington on offense after his departure from OKC but the defense is still lacking. Acquiring Marc Gasol would go a long way in solving some problems. Getting Gasol would likely come at the expense of Otto Porter and Gortat, but so be it. Flanked by Wall and Beal on the perimeter, Gasol would be at his very best.
The trio of Beal, Wall, and Gasol would instantly be among the NBA’s best and could do some serious damage in the postseason for years to come.