Ensuring that Bradley Beal wants to remain in Washington was a top priority for the Wizards as they made their offseason moves, including the blockbuster trade that brought Russell Westbrook to D.C. So did the acquisition of Westbrook have an impact on Beal’s desire to stick with the team?
“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about that. I haven’t,” Beal said, per Fred Katz of The Athletic. “My biggest thing is win now, you know? I wanna win.
“I’m here under contract for this year, next year and a player option, too. So, it’s just a matter of, we gotta win. And the organization knows that. It’s up to me, too, so I can’t just sit here and … look at (general manager Tommy Sheppard) like he’s crazy. I have to go out and lead the team, put in the work and get better every day and bring the results.”
As Katz writes, the Wizards have a tricky tightrope to walk, as they focus not only on building a roster capable of long-term success, but also on winning enough in the next year or two to convince Beal that he doesn’t need to move to a new team to contend.
Here’s more on the Wizards:
- Davis Bertans and Robin Lopez haven’t yet been able to join the Wizards for practice, tweets Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. Bertans was held up by visa issues, according to Wallace, who notes that the team also had one of its new players test positive for the coronavirus. There hasn’t been confirmation that the affected player was Lopez, but it sounds like that’s very possible.
- The Wizards are counting on point guard Russell Westbrook, who is known for his competitiveness and tenacity, to help set the culture for their young roster, Wallace writes for The Washington Post.
- Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said today that the starting small forward position will be “fluid,” with Troy Brown, Isaac Bonga, Deni Avdija, Davis Bertans, and Jerome Robinson all among the options there, per Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Brooks also said today that the Wizards are close to a decision on whether or not to participate in the NBA G League’s proposed Atlanta bubble. He believes there’s a good chance the Wizards will opt in, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link).
Rui is the best SF they got. And he is a future star. You are welcome. And I’m available to help your team
He’s a 4. Good group of forwards. About playoffs, Atlanta has a trade to make
Clearly the parameters for stardom are much lower in the eastern conference. The only real future star there is Bradley Beal, assuming he sticks around. Russ was a star, but time is catching up with him at age 32. His knees are close to being shot, and once they are in a year or two, it will be impossible for the Wizards to unload his contract. We thank you.
Easier to unload RW than JH. RW is a warhorse and can adjust better than JH, if not willingly… not that that’s a high bar.
Nothing houston says is truthful.
The only reason it was easier to trade Russ is because the Rockets got fair value, John Wall will actually end up being an upgrade in the long run. While it’s literally impossible to get anything close to fair value if they were to trade Harden, who is destined to be an all-time great. Despite the popular opinion of those who dislike him, mostly for personal reasons, he will be remembered as one of the best to ever play the game.
No, he is one of the most innovative, not one of the best. Years from now people may remember the RW triple-doubles more than the step-back. Harden should get busy and be the one to name his moves, to boost his claim of inventing them.
Without a title, the two go with Archibald, Gervin, Toney, Price… there are many who rode the spotlight and get to the round of 4.
It was Morey’s idea to pick a promising player and build an offense around him. Harden wants that FO effort behind him again and probably worries about cannabalizing teammates not being held back by Morey and Dantoni.
Beal is not a future star, he was & is, but he ain’t not young anymore, he is in his pick, so he is the present, no future, get things right… now Avdija & Rui are future stars in the east or west!
The Wizards is the most unpredictable team in the league. You just don’t know what kind of team they’re gonna be. They’re ceiling is a 5 seed in the East but they could also miss the playoffs given that ATL improved a lot and obviously the Nets will take massive steps forward with a healthy Durant and Kyrie. With that said, the Wizards making the playoffs definitely isn’t a lock. As a fan I’m hopeful, this is the most excitement that this team has had since 2017. There’s potential for them to win 47-50 games and who knows, if they are on pace to get over 50 wins they may try to trade for a third piece most likely a productive front court player that would help them get to that next level. They’ll be a really fun team to watch regardless.