Derick Hingle / Associated Press
Bradley Beal is not available for trade.
That was the case before the Washington Wizards’ remarkable victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night, and it remains the story surrounding their franchise. All parties, from key decision makers at the Wizards office to members of Beal’s representation, insist that the marriage between superstar and organization is alive and well.
“It doesn’t seem like a bluff to raise the price,” said a longtime executive. “They don’t want to change it.”
Beal has always been loyal to the lone team in his nine-year NBA career. Likewise, the Wizards remained committed to building a list of players of the caliber of the playoffs around the league’s top scorer. That’s why they traded the beloved point guard John Wall and his choice of 2023 lottery-protected first round for Russell Westbrook in early December.
The Wizards, finally in full force, have just proved that they can defeat the favorites of the Eastern Conference, like the Nets. And while they are only sitting 4-12, only three games separate them from the 9-11 Cleveland Cavaliers, who currently have the seventh best performance at the conference.
The Wizards, however, are still far from being a true contender for the championship. And in an NBA that looks more and more like an arms race than a competition on the court, rivals are closely surrounding this situation. For every exciting Wizards win, there will be more defeats and more screenshots of a frustrated Beal hanging with his head on the bank rippling across the Internet.
With 27-year-old Beal able to test free agency after the 2021-22 season, the opposing offices are predicting some inevitable tipping point, when the game’s best point guard and / or its current franchise agree that it is better for a change. If James Harden’s exchange request was just the latest spin on the league’s superstar merry-go-round, Beal is the game-changing talent that many hope to turn up front and center.
“There is no realistic possibility of [them] be a good team under your contract, “says the longtime decision maker.
This crucial moment is unlikely to occur until the end of the 2020-21 campaign. There is a feeling around the league that no matter what their background, the Wizards group of owners would not approve of any transaction that would send Beal away from Washington until this off-season at the very least.
“The teams say that all the time, but you feel like it’s real,” says an assistant general manager.
Especially as the word among NBA circles suggests that the Wizards are planning another aggressive search to land Toronto Raptors chief executive Masai Ujiri this summer to pilot their basketball operations.
The Washington-owned group is said to have minority investors with a lot of money eager to pursue Ujiri’s services, for which the franchise was prepared to offer more than $ 10 million annually and an opportunity for its own equity, according to ESPN Adrian Wojnarowski. Running the Wizards, according to a school of thought, is a much more intriguing opportunity with Beal in his squad, at his peak, and two full seasons remaining in his contract (including a 2022-23 player option).
Kim Klement / Associated Press
This can still change at any time. As several Wizards employees and a league source with knowledge of Beal’s thinking told B / R, a single off-beat can change the whole pace of a franchise. Washington played only 16 games in this expected season of 72 games. Much space still separates the first of February from the March 25 negotiation deadline.
“I think a lot depends on who’s going to give in first: Brad or property,” said an Eastern Conference scout.
If Beal changes his mind and tells Wizards management that he would like to play elsewhere, there is already a somewhat established market for what would certainly yield Washington a profitable return.
The New Orleans Pelicans ‘interest in Beal remains one of the league’s biggest open secrets, and it looks like their great achievement for Jrue Holiday would be the Wizards’ mandatory starting point in any deal. With a treasure trove of future capital, veteran contracts and five recent first-round choices under the age of 25 (not counting Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram), New Orleans has the flexibility to offer Washington a package that rivals what Brooklyn paid for to acquire Harden, and still surround Beal with a winning combination around him.
The Nuggets have been as close to Beal as the Pelicans, and they could offer Washington the only successful commercial ingredient that New Orleans can’t seem to: a genuine promise from Michael Porter Jr. However, that’s where any appearance of certainty for hypothetical.
David Zalubowski / Associated Press
Brooklyn is no longer a viable candidate for Beal after squandering to get Harden. The Philadelphia 76ers could return to the table with Ben Simmons, as they did in their discussions about Harden, but many in the league believe that Washington would require an additional reward of summoning capital that Philadelphia seemed unwilling to include in its Harden openings.
“The number of teams that could potentially obtain [Washington’s] the interest here would be small “, says a capologist.
The teams that normally go hunting big games (Miami, Ujiri regime in Toronto, Dallas) don’t seem to have enough flexibility to provide Washington with ample compensation. But there are some wildcard suitors to keep an eye on.
If Beal were available this season, Atlanta could be an amazing landing spot. The 10-9 Hawks, currently sixth in the East, are as focused on the playoffs as the Wizards. And before Atlanta won Onyeka Okongwu with choice number 6 in the draft, Washington hoped that the great man at USC would still be available in his choice as number 9, according to league sources.
The Hawks also amply signaled that the choice of 2018’s first round, Kevin Huerter, was available via trade before draft night. Atlanta would need to include Tony Snell and another minor contract to match Beal’s salary. Adding John Collins would make money work, and if Wizards are willing to hire him for the top-level contract sources say he wants at his next restricted free agency, Atlanta owns all of his first rounds plus the choice of the first round of Oklahoma City Thunder, protected by lottery 2022.
The New York Knicks has $ 17 million in capitalization space, a series of winning contracts, several recent first round selections in their roster and a cabinet full of future choices at their disposal. The Knicks have never had much interest in Westbrook this off season, say league sources. But adding Beal may be worth the risk. The Knicks would finally have an unquestionable All-NBA talent in their squad, still several years before their 30th birthday, with their own clean slate to add another co-star.
The Knicks could offer Washington a degree of wage relief that would have to be intriguing to the wizards’ chiefs. No matter the post-Beal future that would come in DC, Washington is likely to be hurt for the remaining two years and another $ 80 million in the Westbrook deal.
For now, all of this remains theoretical. We repeat: Bradley Beal is not available via commerce. He will continue to defend 30 of his opponents on the left and right, even if he does not register a goal attempt until the second quarter, as he did against Brooklyn. Perhaps the Wizards can accumulate some more inspirational victories like that thriller against the Nets.
“It was not something I needed to see on its own, but I think our effort and the way we played was great,” Beal told reporters after the game. “It wasn’t just a guy who won us the game or two. It was a collective effort by everyone.”
As well as the community effort currently maintaining the All-Star in Washington.
Jake Fischer covered the NBA for Sports illustrated and is the author of Made to lose: how the NBA tank era changed the league forever. Follow him on Twitter @JakeLFischer.