Southeast Notes: Beal, Lin, Whiteside, Patterson

Bradley Beal is a virtual lock to elicit a max offer this summer, and “the consensus” is the Wizards will keep him, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Beal was somewhat vague when asked whether he plans on agreeing to an offer from the Wizards as soon as possible upon becoming a free agent in July or gauging bids from other teams, as Castillo relays. Either way, the Wizards have the right to match any offer for the soon-to-be restricted free agent. “I want to be here. I don’t know,” Beal said in response to the question. “I don’t even know what I’m getting into right now. It’s like choosing colleges again. But I’m happy where I am. Hopefully, we can agree with each other this summer and we can get it done. But if not, it’s a business at the end of the day.”

See more from the Southeast Division:

• Jeremy Lin, who said he almost signed with the Mavericks for the $2.814MM room exception this past summer, drew an offer from the Nets for the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception but turned it down, with his camp of the belief that he could get $5MM a year, league sources tell NetsDaily (Twitter link). Lin instead signed with the Hornets for the $2.139MM biannual exception amount.
• Hassan Whiteside says he and his representatives tried several times without success to convince the Hornets to give him a tryout before he signed with the Heat last season, as Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post relays. Whiteside, who hits free agency again this summer, is from Gastonia, North Carolina, just outside of Charlotte.
• The Hawks have assigned Lamar Patterson to the D-League affiliate of the Spurs, Atlanta announced. The D-League Spurs are set to play tonight as they resume a postseason game that had been suspended Sunday when condensation formed on the court. Atlanta’s next playoff game is Tuesday. The Hawks are without their own affiliate but have sent players, including Patterson, to the Austin Spurs on many occasions.