Report: Wizards close to acquiring Bucks' Dudley for protected 1st-round pick

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The Washington Wizards are on the hunt for a Paul Pierce replacement, and there may be no NBA player who more closely approximates Pierce's game than Jared Dudley.

The Wizards are closing in on a deal to acquire the veteran combo forward from the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

Stein reports the Wizards are expected to absorb Dudley's $4.25-million contract into the trade exception they created in dealing Andre Miller last season.

In return, the Bucks will get a highly protected first-round draft pick, according to CBS Sports' Ken Berger, who reports the pick will be "so protected it'll never be a first. So (a) future second, in effect."

At 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, Dudley can capably play both forward positions, but he probably offers the most value as a stretch four, a role Pierce played to much aplomb this past postseason.

If anything, Dudley is the better 3-point marksman, a career 39.6 percent shooter from distance who hit 38.5 percent last season. He's also a long and heady defender who can guard three positions, and makes up for his relative lack of speed with strength, balance, and sound footwork.

In short, he's a terrific and cost-effective grab for the Wizards.

The Bucks, who just agreed to a three-year, $50-million deal with free-agent power forward Greg Monroe, likely felt it prudent to loosen up a frontcourt logjam while keeping their cap sheet as lean as possible.