“Always stay ready,” Nicholson said during a conference call on Monday from his home country of Canada. “Whenever an opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to seize it.”

The Wizards moved quickly to acquire Nicholson, signing him last week for $26 million over four years after missing out on four-time all-star Al Horford during the opening stages of free agency. Nicholson is slotted to be a backup to Markieff Morris and add to the front-court depth that also includes recent signee Ian Mahinmi, formerly of the Indiana Pacers.

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Nicholson comes to the District along with another former Magic player, Jason Smith, who appeared in 76 games during his only season in Orlando. Smith, a 7-foot jump-shooter, signed for $16 million over four years.

Like Smith, Nicholson has spent a good deal of his offseason workout program concentrating on three-point shooting. The Wizards are seeking to fortify that area after long-range-proficient forward Jared Dudley signed with the Phoenix Suns.

“I continue to work on that,” said Nicholson, who last season went 41 of 114 on three-pointers for career highs in both makes and attempts. “It’s something that definitely I’ve been working on in the summertime. It’s an important aspect of my game, and just look forward to getting better at it.”

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Nicholson became expendable as the Magic added multiple players at his position over the past several seasons, including Tobias Harris and Aaron Gordon, as well as Serge Ibaka last month.

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Nicholson’s circumstances resemble those of Trey Burke, another new addition to the Wizards. Burke started 68 games as a rookie for the Utah Jazz in 2013-14, 43 the next season and none in 2015-16.

Washington traded a 2021 second-round pick for Burke, who will be the primary backup to all-star point guard John Wall.