The Complexity of a Potential Bradley Beal Trade
The 2022-2023 NBA regular season has reached its halfway point. Some teams like the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets, look fine and well-tuned as they stand atop their respective conferences. However, most teams, especially those lagging at the bottom of the standings, look lost and are desperate to find answers to their problems.
In most cases, answers involve making the necessary trades to improve their standing and chances of reaching the 2023 playoffs. Or, for some franchises, trading will allow them to rebuild their roster through the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft.
While there were numerous trades that happened during the 2022 off-season, things have been quiet primarily because a handful of key players aren’t eligible to be traded until after January 15th, 2023.
With that date now just around the corner, the anticipation has increased as we’ve been hearing rumbles about who could be changing their address heading into the 2023 NBA trade deadline.
The Situation
Of all the potential impact players who might be moved this year, Bradley Beal’s situation is one that more than a few clubs are keeping tabs on.
Not only did he recently sign a max contract, but his new deal also includes a trade clause that gives Beal the say in the team the Washington Wizards would send him to. Another concern for any team that would want to trade for Beal is his health.
The 29-year-old shooting guard out of Florida has only appeared in 24 games this season due to injuries. As of this writing, he’s still listed as out due to a low-grade hamstring strain. And he hasn’t played a full 82-game regular season in his career.
Beal is averaging 22.9 points, 5.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 52.5% field goal shooting. Those are still decent numbers that could help maintain a high trade value. The injury woes are another thing.
The Wizards are 18-25 and remain out of contention for a spot in the play-in tournament. If a trade involving Bradley Beal is to happen anytime between January 16th and the February trade deadline, it will have to materialize fairly quickly. Not only because time is limited, but so are their options.
Should the Wizards Trade Bradley Beal?
Bradley Beal is in the first season of a five-year contract extension that will cost the Wizards $251M. This season alone, Beal will earn $43 million, and it will get bigger as the years pass by.
The problem is Beal is injured, an issue that’s happening more and more frequently of late. Naturally, people speculate whether or not the Wizards should trade Beal given the trade clause in his contract.
There are two ways to go.
If the goal of a Bradley Beal trade is to help the Wizards win now and help improve their standings in the Eastern Conference, then Washington may want to hang onto their oft injured star.
On the other hand, if the goal of the trade is to prepare for the future and build the roster through the draft then they should be open to offers.
As recently as the 2020-21 campaign, Beal was averaging 31.3 points per game, a season in which he made the All-NBA third team. And for a team as devoid of starpower as the Wizards have been over the last decade plus, the front office isn’t just going to give Beal away for cents on the dollar.
The 6’4” guard has told the press numerous times that he wants to win a championship in DC. But with Washington looking more like a doormat in the East than an NBA Finals contender, could this finally be the year that something gives?
As always, the Lakers have been linked to Beal as they’re exploring virtually every option under the sun at the moment. But Dallas has also been a name that’s popped up on the radar more than once in the lead up to January 15th.
Whether anything materializes or not remains to be seen, however if Beal is truly hoping to one day add an NBA Championship to his resume, then perhaps he’ll need to seriously consider exploring trade scenarios next week.
-Iggy Gonzales
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