Wizards Sign Antonio Daniels

The Wizards just took another step in recovering from the departure of Larry Hughes by agreeing in principle to a deal with Antonio Daniels reportedly worth $30 million dollars over five years. The addition of Daniels, who played the last two years in Seattle for the Supersonics and was highly sought after by the LA Lakers, figures to give coach Eddie Jordan some flexibility with his line ups, particularly in the backcourt. Daniels can play both spots in the backcourt and will set the tone for the Wiz on defense. Hopefully he can turn himself into Washington's Wade stopper.

His numbers from last year don't exactly jump out at you, but he's a proven veteran and was a big part of Seattle's deep playoff run last year. When Rashard Lewis went down with an injury against the San Antonio Spurs, Daniels was inserted into the starting lineup and responded by nearly doubling his scoring average. And more importantly, he had just six turnovers in the entire series against the Spurs. In fact, Daniels led the league in assist to turnover ratio two years ago and came in second last year.

This news also helps take the sting out of losing free agent big man Donyell Marshall to the Cavs. On paper, the Wiz look thin up front so more personnel moves might be on the horizon. The signing of Daniels along with the addition of Chucky Atkins means that former Terps Juan Dixon and Steve Blake will likely be playing elsewhere next season. Perhaps General Manager Ernie Grunfeld can come up with a package to bring back a big man to help out down low. Names that have been thrown about include Drew Gooden, Chris Wilcox, Nene and Steven Hunter.