Mar 21, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) dribbles the ball up the court against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
The Wizards have made clear that they’re open to a rebuild including trading Bradley Beal. Now an Eastern Conference contender has emerged as a landing spot.
According to Shams Charania, the Miami Heat are the favorites to land Bradley Beal if the Wizards trade him this summer. However, they’ll have to put together a compelling package and convince Beal to come to Miami.
Beal has a full no-trade clause which allows him to control what team he wants to go to. The Wizards could hold out on him due to the fact that he has three years and a player option left on his deal, but given the relationship, it seems like Washington will send him to where he wants to go given proper draft capital.
The Miami Heat are not able to offer some of their picks due to pick protections on their 2025 first-round pick but they can still offer a lot. They can match the salary very easily by offering Kyle Lowry’s expiring and just make up the extra $9.5 million in extra matching salary. Victor Oladipo’s contract would be a perfect fit for this, assuming he will pick up his option due to the major injury recovery time he just had.
What is exactly going on with the Wizards and Bradley Beal?
Beal has a no-trade clause which forces the Wizards into a bind. The Wizards’ front office and Beal’s agent will work through this for the whole summer due to the fact that Beal controls his own fate. With a new change in their front office, it may be that the Wizards end up rebuilding this offseason.
There have been hints that this may be on the way as Keith Smith reported this morning that Kristaps Porzingis will most likely opt-in rather than sign a long-term deal with the Wizards.
He was likely to re-sign on a long-term deal “under the old front office” but now it seems like Porzingis may take his player option which would put the Wizards into a bind with an expensive win-now roster. Still, this group is facing at best a life of being a No. 7 or No. 6 seed in the east if they choose to go forward with this roster. That seems like something the new front office might not want to commit to.
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