Bradley Beal has spent the past several years in trade rumors, and with his free agency set to finally arrive in the offseason, he's never been in a better position to change teams if he actually wants to. For the time being, though, he doesn't seem all that interested in moving. When asked if it was fair to say that he was leaning toward re-signing with the Wizards in the offseason on Thursday, Beal responded by nodding and saying "that's fair." That does not mean his decision is final, but financially speaking, he has every reason to remain with the Wizards.
Should he choose to re-sign, he'd be eligible for a projected five-year, $246 million contract with the Wizards. If he wanted to leave for another team, he could earn only a projected $179 million over four years. Beal could sign a four-year, $181 million extension now, but given the bigger contract he is eligible for in the offseason, waiting not only grants him flexibility, but potentially a bigger payday.
Beal has made it clear that he is keeping an open mind about his future. "I got time," Beal told Yahoo's Chris Haynes in December. "I kind of hold the cards right now, and No. 1, I've never been in this position. So I'm kind of embracing that, being able to, OK, kind of dictate how I want my future to be and where I want it to be. At the same time, I'm giving Shep [Tommy Sheppard] that opportunity to show that it's working. But at the same time, I'm not gonna make that grand commitment and it doesn't work.
"Ultimately you have to be selfish at some point, and for probably the first time in my career, Year 10 I am, my full commitment is to the team," Beal continued. "I want it to work. I've contributed to being here. I've committed to being here twice. So now I want to see that commitment to me as well, you know that we can create a winning team and a winning environment, and granted, I'm a part of that. So I've gotta make sure that I'm stepping up and doing my thing as well."
Since then, the Wizards have fallen out of the top 10 in the Eastern Conference and Beal has suffered a season-ending injury. Beal recently said that even making the play-in again would be a step back, and now, the Wizards are likely to miss it entirely. They've traded for Kristaps Porzingis since then, but their long-term future remains cloudy to say the least.
Even if Beal wants to find a new team, re-signing with the Wizards and then merely asking for a trade afterward would be a way of doing so without making any financial sacrifices in the process. A compromise, should Beal decide he is ready to leave Washington this offseason, would be for him to opt into the final year and $37 million or so of his contract with the understanding that he would be dealt to a preferred destination. Doing so would allow him to either sign a four-year extension with that new team or wait until next offseason to get five full seasons.
Regardless of the exact timeline, the Wizards are under pressure to put a winner around Beal if they want him to stay. He might re-sign for financial reasons, but a player of his caliber isn't going to be happy about spending his prime on a lottery team. The clock is ticking on Washington.
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