After watching the Chicago Bulls’ coaching fiasco a few months ago, the Washington Wizards probably felt their title as the most dysfunctional team in the league being threatened. Thus, they made a series of mind-boggling moves and announcements. The dust has settled, and it’s safe to say Washington has regained that distinction.
Washington made it clear their goal was to compete last offseason by signing veterans like Dwight Howard and Jeff Green. This made sense, considering the roster makeup they had at the time. With a bit of luck regarding injuries, this team could find itself making a decent playoff run. Next, they traded their lone young asset, Kelly Oubre Jr., away for Trevor Ariza, doubling down on this objective.
Now, of course, John Wall’s recent injury changed things, and it showed in their moves during the NBA trade deadline. Washington miraculously managed to trade Otto Porter’s three-year $80 million deal (with a 15% trade kicker too!) away, as well as moving veteran PF Markieff Morris away to save money. In return, Washington was able to clear cap space and gain relatively young players in Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker. This signified a desire to rebuild, with the money to make a run at restricted free agents.
It seemed like Washington wanted to get out before it was too late. They seemingly recognized Porter’s stagnation and saw that it was probably time to restart. They probably regretted trading Oubre away earlier, but it wasn’t too big of a loss. Now, logically, it was time to rebuild.
But things started to make too much sense for Washington. The Wizards suddenly revealed that their newly freed cap space was designated for Trevor Ariza and Jeff Green, two men turning 33 and 32 respectively. So then, according to this, instead of using the money to challenge for guys like Willy Cauley-Stein or Ivica Zubac, Washington wants to re-sign veterans for a possible playoffs push….without All-Star PG John Wall or former starter Otto Porter.
Nothing about this makes sense. But when we’re dealing with the Washington Wizards, not making sense is the norm. Now, if we’re being at all reasonable, there’s only one way forward for this team: trading Bradley Beal.
Despite Washington announcing a willingness to take Bradley Beal trade calls earlier this season, they also stated they had no plans to move Beal during the deadline. Hopefully, for their sake and the rest of the NBA, this doesn’t mean the summer too. It only makes sense to trade Beal at this point.
At 22-33, the Wizards aren’t a good basketball team without a healthy John Wall. However, they’re also not terrible. If this continues into next season, similar results will happen. Wall will miss almost the entire season, and Beal is too good for them to plummet further.
A Beal-less Washington Wizards team is easily one of the worst in the league, and a probable top-five pick in the draft. Combine that with the assets from trading Beal, and Washington has at least two promising young players. The return for Beal could potentially be enormous, considering the stage of his career he’s at.
Beal’s still only 25 and has improved every year of his career. He’s averaging career-highs in literally every major statistical category, at 24.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks. All of this while keeping an impressive 46.9% from the field and a respectable 2.7 turnovers a game. Even better, he’s erased all questions about the injury concerns that plagued his early years. Although his three-point accuracy has dipped to a mediocre 35.4%, he has a reputation as a marksman with a 38.8% career clip on 5.6 attempts per game.
Beal is the ideal Robin to a Batman in today’s NBA, with strengths in all the right places. He’s everything a team can ask for on offense, as a premier floor spacer with playmaking chops as well, a truly modern guard. Even better, he’s on an affordable five-year $127 million contract with two full seasons to go.
Imagine putting Beal next to another dynamic ball-handler (one that he actually likes), in an actual NBA level playbook (looking at you Scott Brooks). He’s perfect in any basketball system, with the ability to both create and play off-ball.
Simply put, Bradley Beal is a very, very valuable player. Every NBA team could use a guy like him, given his skills and extended contract. Behind Anthony Davis, Beal easily has the most trade value out of every available player. When we look at the return on recent trades like the Tobias Harris deal, Washington should be salivating. With the right luck, a trade like this can turn an entire franchise around for the better.
There’s no more tread on the tire for this Washington Wizards’ team. They hit their peak in the 2016-17 postseason, but it’s over for this core. Wall is hurt and may never return to his former self, and now they’ve lost Otto Porter. Bradley Beal is the lone remnant from that team, and it’s time to move on.
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