The Washington Wizards lack an athletic, young, defensive-minded big man and they need to find a player who fits that mold this summer during free agency

The Washington Wizards had plenty of holes in their roster this past season, but perhaps the most glaring was their lack of an enforcer.

Marcin Gortat and Nene anchored a top-10 defense for two straight seasons, but the duo was split up after the team opted to play a more modern brand of basketball that’s focused on increased pace and space.

Nene was sent to the bench and had an impressive season, despite his annual battle with old man injuries. Without the two bigs in the lineup, the Wizards’ defense suffered and they quickly lost the identity that made them a successful club over the past several years.

With Markieff Morris and Gortat returning for another season, the Wizards won’t revert back to the archaic style of basketball, but they still have that hole to fill.

Heading into this off-season, the Wizards still lack an athletic, defensive-minded big man – something that most contending teams have.

On Saturday night, the Toronto Raptors secured their first victory in the franchise’s history in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they couldn’t have done it without a big man that fits the previously mentioned mold.

Bismack Biyombo, who was let go by the Charlotte Hornets and was largely considered a bust after being selected seventh overall in 2011, emerged as one of Toronto’s most impactful players during this year’s NBA Playoffs.

Biyombo grabbed 26 rebounds and blocked four shots, but his impact on the game went far beyond the stat-sheet, as odd as that might seem.

His ability to disrupt shots inside caused the Cavaliers to play away from their offense, forcing them to hoist up bad shots from the perimeter.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who both do a solid job of mixing it up offensively, were completely negated.

Cleveland’s guards were defended well by their primary defenders, but once they got to the basket, they were shut down by Biyombo.

The Raptors also did a solid job of switching their big men onto LeBron James, allowing him to settle for the outside shot. Of course, James rarely settled for looks from deep and attacked the basket where he was constantly met by Biyombo.

Biyombo has obviously blossomed into one of the league’s best rebounding and rim protecting big man and finding a player at that level this summer is going to cause the Washington Wizards to use up most of their cap space.

Most teams have a player that does similar things to Biyombo, but not a player that does it to that extreme. Biyombo has been doing this the entire year and played a huge part in Toronto’s success against Washington during the regular season, but hasn’t gotten much recognition until now.

Biyombo is going to become a free agent this summer and pundits have already begun to speculate about the amount of money he’s going to get. He does exactly what a modern big man should do: he’s the first big man up the floor on both ends, alters shots, cleans up his teammates’ messes and doesn’t do too much offensively.

Now that the NBA has become much more perimeter oriented and the Washington Wizards have the best young back court in the game, they have to add someone who does the same things as Biyombo, even if it’s not at his level.

John Wall hasn’t played with an “athletic” big man since JaVale McGee roamed around the Verizon Center aimlessly.

Washington added J.J. Hickson late in the season after trying to make a final playoff push and even he thrived next to Washington’s guards. Hickson, though, didn’t provide much value defensively.

This summer, the Wizards have to focus on adding a players who could help them regain their defensive identity without suffering offensively.

Assuming they don’t sign someone like Hassan Whiteside, Dwight Howard or Biyombo , there are going to be other cheap alternatives with similar skill-sets.

Here’s a list of big men that could interest Washington this summer:

Washington will also likely express interest in Jaleel Roberts, who played for the team during preseason last year.

Roberts was waived before the start of the season, but the Washington Wizards are high on the 23-year-old. He’s 7’1″ and had the entire season to work on his offensive game. He certainly has the length and size to play in the NBA and it’s just a matter of continued development.

The list of options isn’t flashy and the names aren’t notable, but neither was Bismack Biyombo. The league is shifting. Big men that command the ball in the post are no longer a thing. Nowadays, centers are asked to rebound, defend and make the limited about of shots they take. The options are there, so it will be on Ernie Grunfeld and the rest of the front office to find their guy.