Target #1 – Bradley Beal
Bradley Beal needs to be the priority number one on Gersson Rosas’s shortlist of superstars to chase.
Over the last two seasons, Beal has made two All-Star Games, played in all 164 regular season games, and produced at an elite level, averaging 24.1 PPG, 5.0 AST, 4.7 REB, 1.4 STL, 0.6 BLK, on field goal, 3-point and free throw shooting splits of 46.8, 36.3, and 80 percent, respectively.
The only shooting guard to average at least 24 points per game in the last two campaigns while shooting greater than 45 percent from the floor and 35 percent from deep is fellow disgruntled star Devin Booker.
However, it should be noted that Beal played in 36 more games than Booker and logged 14.5 win shares (an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player), while Booker put up just six win shares. Beal’s production has been far from empty and he’s put up numbers night in and night out, regardless of who suits up alongside him.
The former Florida Gator has been offered a three-year, $111 million max extension from the Wizards, but is unlikely to accept it by the Oct. 21 deadline, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. He can still re-negotiate a contract extension after that deadline (which applies to players who have two years left on their current contracts), but he would not be able to do so until next summer.
But rest assured, the Wolves would make sure there is an agreement in principle for an extension with the superstar wing before pulling the trigger on any trade.
The Trade
Minnesota would need to give up a haul and a half to bring in the two-time All-Star, but he is worth every penny. Here’s a look at a couple different options at what Rosas would have to give up.
Trade #1 – Wizards load up on defense
*Note: this would also include Washington receiving a 2020 first-round draft pick.
It should be noted that Washington has roughly $11 million in trade exceptions, which allows a team to accept that much inbound money over the salary cap via trade. In this scenario, the Wolves give up $32.8 million in salary while accepting just $27.1 million from Beal’s contract.
Washington has limited point guard depth after trading away Tomas Satoransky to Chicago on July 7, and desperately needs wing defenders to surround John Wall with upon his return from injury. Okogie and RoCo are two high-level defenders and would instantly provide relief on the defensive end of the floor for a Wizards team who ranked third-worst in defensive rating last season (115.0).
Beal would join a high-octane Wolves offense that would add much-needed shooting on the wing and a go-to offensive superstar at the end of games.
Intriguingly, Bradley is a highly capable pick-and-roll ball-handler: he averaged 0.93 points per possession, scored 44 percent of the time, and shot 47.6 percent on shots out of the pick-and-roll, which accounted for 25.3 percent of his total possessions on the floor last season. Similarly, he excels in hand-off scenarios as well: Beal poured in 1.04 points per possession on 47.1 percent shooting coming off handoffs.
Those play-type numbers rank him in the 75th and 74th percentiles respectively.
Trade #2 – Wizards get out of cap hell
*Note: This trade also includes Washington receiving a 2021 first-round pick and guard Treveon Graham.
Despite two major injuries in the last two seasons, John Wall still has a ton to offer running the point. The 29-year-old was an All-Star each year from 2013 to 2018 and boasts career averages of 19.0 points, 9.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Wall also has extensive playoff experience, turning in a career record of 20-17 in 37 games.
I love Andrew Wiggins and RoCo, so parting with them in a deal to land both Beal and Wall would be tough, but it could enable the Wolves’ younger talent in Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver to play bigger minutes this season.
Beal will command a huge haul by himself, but dealing for Beal while also acquiring Wall will significantly lower the asking price in terms of talent. The Wizards have a gluttony of bigs on their team, so moving Gorgui Dieng in a deal for Beal seems rather unlikely.
As a rebuilding team in cap hell that’s trying to offload nearly $40 million in John Wall salary, Washington has little leverage in any trade scenario, especially considering Beal’s hesitance to re-sign long-term.