Feb 20, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) is pressured by Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (13) during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Wizards need another star. There are a few All-Star caliber centers available in free agency. Should the Wizards part ways with Gortat?

This summer the Washington Wizards have cap space for the first time in the John Wall era. Ernie Grunfeld and Ted Leonsis punted on opportunities early on by trading for Nene, Emeka Okafor, and Trevor Ariza. Now, with Wall in his prime, is the time to sign some reinforcements.

Unfortunately this year’s class of free agents is fairly weak after LeBron James and Kevin Durant – and might just descent into madness due to all the money on the table.

But the Wizards will still throw their hat in the ring.

The center position is among the strongest positions available with three All-Star level centers, Al Horford, Hassan Whiteside, and Dwight Howard, set to hit unrestricted free agency. This leads me to the question: should the Wizards consider replacing Marcin Gortat?

At first glace it seems like the center spot is where the team should not be looking for upgrades.

Gortat has led the team in rebounds and blocks all three years he’s been a Wizard. He was second in points scored the last two years, and fourth the year before. He was second on the team in PER all three years. He also gets paid a very reasonable $13 million a year, on average, for the next three seasons.

Gortat is a fan favorite in DC, which means a lot to the Washington Wizards (remember the Martell Webster contract).

He is an ironman who brings out the best in John Wall. The assumed starting five of Wall/Beal/Porter/Morris/Gortat outscored opponents by almost nine points per 100 possessions in their 200 minutes together per nbawowy. Heck, last month I called Gortat the best Wizards center since Moses Malone.

But with the team coming off a letdown year, Grunfeld and Leonsis must make something happen with this cap space. So let’s look at the starting lineup.

Wall is locked in; so is Bradley Beal if he returns.

Markieff Morris seems locked in to me too.

The Wizards spent most of last season without a starting power forward, and traded for him just last February.

It seems unlikely they want to replace him already. That brings me to the three and the five spots.

Gortat is undoubtedly a more productive player than Otto Porter right now, but the center position is deeper than small forward.

In a vacuum it still helps to be 7-feet. This season, 20 centers had an ESPN real plus minus of 2+, compared to 9 small forward. 14 centers had a PER of 20+ compared to 5 small forwards.

For reference, Porter had an RPM of 1.47 and a PER of 14.5 while Gortat had an RPM of 1.91 and a PER of 19.0.

This talent distribution also holds for the free agent class. The impact wings that may be obtainable – Nic Batum, Chandler Parsons, and RFA Harrison Barnes – are slightly below All-Star level.

Additionally, if the Washington Wizards were to pay big money for a small forward, then their three highest paid positions would be the 1-2-3, which seems unbalanced.

So just for the sake of it, let’s take a closer look at the three prior mentioned centers: Horford, Whiteside, and Howard.

Four time All-Star Al Horford is the best two-way player of the group, and one of the summer’s premier free agents. If the Washington Wizards signed Horford, his versatility would allow them to keep Gortat if desired.

Now I’ll quickly rule out Dwight Howard – no explanation necessary – before I get to Hassan Whiteside.

Whiteside finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and led the league in blocks. He is a risk. If the Wizards sign him they would probably have to move Gortat. But Whiteside has more upside than Gortat, and he would help the team regain a defensive identity.

I think forwards Batum or Parsons would also be worth reaching out to. Wall is at his best with wings who are threats from deep. Porter improved towards the end of the season, but wasn’t quite there. Parsons and Batum can both shoot the three and create some of their own offense.

Marcin Gortat will almost definitely be back next season. He has already started bonding with Scott Brooks after all. But any team that doesn’t make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference needs to be trying to acquire talent, at any position.

The Wizards need a second All-Star. If Grunfeld does not think he can make a major upgrade in free agency I would not be surprised to see him make a trade, as early as the draft.