WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Bradley Beal appears to be quite available in the week leading up to the NBA Draft, as Washington Wizards leadership met with Beal and his representatives this week and will reportedly allow Beal, who has a no-trade clause, to take meetings with potential suitors as the Wizards begin trade talks with rival teams.
In fact, it sounds like Beal is close to being dealt to either the Miami Heat or Phoenix Suns, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, although a return has not been reported as of this writing.
Locked On NBA hosts Nick Angstadt and Pat Morenzoni discussed the possibilities around Beal on a Thursday episode of the podcast.
“The tough part is when you look at Brad Beal’s game, he’s still an amazing scorer,” Morenzoni pointed out. “(But) he just hasn’t been healthy enough to get himself into a consistent rhythm.”
Beal’s scoring fell off last year as he dealt with lower-body injuries throughout the season. He has played just 150 out of 236 possible games the past three years.
Beyond that, Beal is owed about $208 million over the next four seasons under a contract he signed last offseason. Executing a trade for such a highly paid player is difficult, as is fitting a player like Beal onto a competitive team with other star players.
“It’s just tough for teams, now with this new salary cap, this new CBA, to trade for a player that’s making 35 percent of your cap and have him not be a top-20, top-25 player,” Angstadt said.
As for the Wizards, after many years in the mediocre middle of the league, the roster probably needs multiple years of high draft picks and player development to return to legitimate playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. They are unlikely to get one player back for Beal who can jump-start their rebuild.
“There’s probably better value in going full-rebuild than with going ‘let’s restart this with a young player,’” Morenzoni said.