Bradley Beal Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Rumors: Sabonis, Grant, Beal, Bryant, Harrell, Dinwiddie

February 2nd, 2022 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

A number of people around the NBA think the Wizards will go “big-game hunting” at the trade deadline in an effort to ensure Bradley Beal remains happy with the situation in D.C. ahead of his upcoming free agency, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype said on his latest podcast.

Scotto identified Pistons forward Jerami Grant and Pacers center Domantas Sabonis as two potential targets to watch for the Wizards. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report mentions the same two names in his look at Washington’s deadline options, referring to Sabonis as a player who has emerged as a “significant” target for the Wizards.

According to Fischer, there’s a belief Beal has signaled plans to re-sign with the Wizards in the offseason, and there has been no indication the team is willing to discuss him in trade talks on or before February 10. However, having slid down the standings since a 10-3 start, the club appears to be in the market for an impact player in order to help “solidify Beal’s standing” in Washington.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

One source with knowledge of the situation tell Bleacher Report that Beal hasn’t actively encouraged the Wizards to acquire Sabonis, but word around the league is that the Wizards star would welcome the opportunity to play with the big man, Fischer writes. The Kings and Pelicans are the other teams believed to have serious interest in Sabonis, per Fischer’s sources.
The Pacers‘ front office liked Rui Hachimura heading into the 2019 draft and considered Corey Kispert in the 2021 lottery, according to Fischer, who notes that at least two of Hachimura, Kispert, and Deni Avdija would probably have to be included in any package for Sabonis. The Wizards would also have to offer a player like Thomas Bryant or Montrezl Harrell for salary-matching purposes, plus possibly draft assets, and even that might not meet Indiana’s high asking price, says Fischer.
The Wizards have made outgoing calls to assess Harrell’s trade value, and rival executives believe they’re playing Bryant more lately in order to showcase him for a potential deal, writes Fischer.
Although the Wizards have made Spencer Dinwiddie available, his down year will make it more challenging to find a trade partner, per Fischer. “He needs the ball, he’s not good enough to have the ball, and he’s not a good shooter,” a Western Conference executive said to Bleacher Report.

Bradley Beal To Miss At Least One Week With Left Wrist Injury

February 1st, 2022 at 6:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Wizards star shooting guard Bradley Beal will miss at least a week of action with a nagging left wrist sprain before being re-assessed, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). According to Marc Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link), Beal was diagnosed with a scapholunate ligament injury in the left wrist.

Earlier today, Washington head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said that Beal was set to consult with a specialist for an opinion on the injury, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN indicated (via Twitter) that Beal consulted with the specialist in New York.

Unseld noted that continued discomfort ultimately was the determining factor when it came to Beal’s decision to visit a specialist, Hughes tweets. Beal did not travel with Washington for the club’s current road trip.

Beal, 28, is averaging 23.2 PPG, 6.6 APG, and 4.7 RPG for the 23-26 Wizards, currently the No. 12 seed in the East, across 40 games this season. Though his field goal percentage of 45.1% and his free-throw mark of 83.3% are both consistent with his career output, his three-point shooting has taken a significant dip this season, down to just 30.0% on 5.3 attempts per game. The three-time All-Star’s career long-range percentage is 37.2% on 6.0 looks a night.

Bradley Beal To Miss Multiple Games Due To Wrist Injury

January 31st, 2022 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

Star guard Bradley Beal will miss the Wizards‘ games in Milwaukee on Tuesday and in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the team announced today in a press release.

Beal sustained a sprained left wrist during the third quarter of Saturday’s loss to Memphis, according to the Wizards. While he was able to finish that game, he’ll undergo further evaluation on that wrist injury before being cleared to return to action, the team said in today’s announcement.

While it’s possible Beal will only be sidelined for two games, his absence could extend beyond Wednesday. And any time he misses is a problem for the Wizards, who have struggled this season following a 10-3 start. At 23-26, Washington is currently 11th in the East, a game out of a play-in spot.

Beal is eligible to reach unrestricted free agency this summer, so the Wizards’ moves at the trade deadline and their performance in the second half will be worth monitoring closely. The 28-year-old has spoken about his desire to remain in D.C. long-term, but he also wants to see the club making consistent forward progress. The Wizards earned the No. 8 seed in the East in 2021’s play-in tournament, so falling short of a playoff spot this season would represent a step back.

With Beal out, Corey Kispert will likely return to the starting lineup, while the team leans more heavily on point guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Raul Neto for scoring and play-making.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Butler, Lowry, Tucker, Bogdanovic

January 27th, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bradley Beal is showing signs of irritation with the Wizards’ recent play. Beal made it clear he feels that if the Wizards end up in the play-in tournament, he’d view it as a step back, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Beal has not signed an extension and holds an option on his contract for next season. He hinted that how the team finishes might impact his future plans.

“I don’t want to be a play-in team. I don’t think anybody in our organization wants to be a play-in team,” he said to NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller. “And I think so from that standpoint, I’m not alone in that thinking. I think we all know that we can be better than a play-in team. And we’ve obviously got to put in the work and do that. But I mean, I feel like that’s a step back in a lot of ways and we’re trying to proceed forward and that’s kind of either staying the same as last year or not making any progress at all. And so, that plays a factor into (his future plans).”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable for the Heat‘s game on Friday’ against the Clippers because of left big toe irritation, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Butler had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes against the Knicks on Wednesday. Kyle Lowry will be out for a sixth straight game because of personal reasons and there’s no definitive timetable for the point guard’s return.
Heat forward P.J. Tucker, who holds a $7.4MM player option on his contract for 2022/23, plans to play beyond next season, he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “Two or three (years) is easy. My question is do I want to go past five,” Tucker said. “Next three or four will be easy. If we go past three or four, then we start talking.”
Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s knee held up well after his return to action on Wednesday, Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Bogdanovic had 18 points and seven assists in 23 minutes for the Hawks against Sacramento after missing nearly two weeks. He was moving well in practice on Thursday. “It feels good. He’s moving good,” coach Nate McMillan said. “He said he came out of the game OK last night.”

Wizards Notes: Beal, Kuzma, Collapse, Sabonis

January 26th, 2022 at 9:44pm CST by Rory Maher

The Wizards blew a 35-point lead against the Clippers on Tuesday, suffering a humiliating 116-115 defeat, raising questions about Washington’s direction, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Wizards guard Bradley Beal said it should’ve been an easy win, but that’s not how the game transpired.

“It just should have been a game where starters get their rest, plain and simple, right?” Beal said afterward. “That’s what type of game it should have been, and we didn’t. And Coach (Wes Unseld) kept saying, ‘Stay locked in. Stay locked in. Keep pushing.’ But for whatever reason, we relax, like we can just flip on a switch and be great.”

Beal should be held culpable too, Robbins writes. He was on the court for the majority of the fourth quarter in which the Wizards were outscored 40-22, and only half-heartedly attempted to foul Justise Winslow, a poor free throw shooter, who Unseld had instructed the team to foul in the closing seconds. Making matters worse, Beal proceeded to commit a cardinal basketball sin by weakly fouling Luke Kennard on a three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left while Washington was clinging to a 115-112 lead. Kennard made the three and sank the free throw, clinching the victory for the Clips.

After a 10-3 start to the season, the Wizards have gone 13-22 since, now holding a 23-25 record, 10th in the East. Forward Kyle Kuzma thinks “somethin’ got to change.” After the game, Kuzma was asked whether he agreed with Unseld that the team stopped competing after building the large lead, per Robbins.

“Everybody stopped,” Kuzma said. “It felt like defensively we didn’t do anything. We’ve got to do a better job of reading the room from the bench as well. It’s a team loss. Everybody lost tonight.”

Here’s more on the Wizards:

Beal recently joined Adrian Wojnarowski’s “The Woj Pod” on ESPN (hat tip to RealGM). Beal knows the Wizards need to improve to be competitive long-term, but he likes being the centerpiece of the franchise. “Honestly, realizing that a franchise is willing to build around you. It’s not always like that everywhere. Like, if I go somewhere else, they’re just not going to build around you. They’ll build around what they have,” Beal said. “There’s nothing absolutely nothing wrong with that, but if I have the chance to create my own legacy and make it work here with the team that drafted me, then why not give it a shot? It it works, it works, If it doesn’t, I can say ‘At least I tried.’ That’s just who I am. That’s my blessing and curse, my loyalty. We’re transitioning, we’re going in the right direction, but we still have a lot of improvements to make.”
Robbins and Bob Kravitz of The Athletic explore what it might type of trade package it might take for the Wizards to acquire Pacers All-Star Domantas Sabonis. Pacers owner Herb Simon says he’s disinterested in a full-fledged rebuild, so draft picks might not do the trick — in any case, the 2023 first-rounder Washington owes to Oklahoma City is protected through 2026, so any future first-round pick the team offers would have to be conditional. Kravitz says if he were Indiana’s GM, he’d want Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, and Corey Kispert, Washington’s three most recent first-round picks, in exchange for Sabonis.
Keep track of all of the latest notes and rumors from Washington on our Wizards team page.

Wizards Remain Focused On Retaining Bradley Beal Long-Term

January 19th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by Luke Adams

With just over three weeks until the February 10 deadline, there has been no real discussion on the trade market about Wizards star Bradley Beal, and the expectation is that there won’t be, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link).

As Windhorst details, Beal doesn’t plan to sign the extension offer that has been on the table since October and will likely opt out of his contract during the 2022 offseason. However, the Wizards are preparing to “roll the dice” on the veteran guard deciding to re-sign with the team this summer.

General manager Tommy Sheppard recently told The Athletic that both sides have been transparent in their communications, a point Windhorst reiterates. Beal has been involved in many of Washington’s recent major roster decisions, including the trade of Russell Westbrook and the free agent recruitment of Spencer Dinwiddie, team sources tell ESPN. Windhorst adds that Beal and his family have also become close with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, an offseason addition.

While there was some speculation entering the 2021/22 season that Beal might seek a change of scenery if things went south in D.C., Matt Moore of Action Network hears from two sources that – if anything – the 28-year-old has become even less inclined to jump ship. According to Moore, there’s a belief that Beal’s focus is on maximizing his next contract rather than finding a new team.

The Wizards will be able to offer Beal more years (five) and more money ($241MM+) in free agency than any other suitor would be able to, and the team’s apparent willingness to put a five-year offer on the table has resulted in “a measure of calm” within the organization about the All-Star’s future, says Windhorst. A rival team wouldn’t be able to go beyond four years and $179MM for Beal in free agency, based on the NBA’s most recent cap projections.

That doesn’t mean it’s a lock that Beal will re-sign with the Wizards in the offseason, but it appears the club’s plan in the coming weeks will be to seek roster upgrades to complement its leading scorer, rather than entertaining any offers that include him.

As Windhorst writes, the Wizards have already traded away one of their future first-round picks – along with several second-rounders – and are less than $2MM away from the tax line, so they’ll have to be careful about how they approach the deadline, given that they have no assurances yet about Beal’s future.

Southeast Notes: Bridges, Wizards, Beal, Lowry, Chalmers

January 17th, 2022 at 11:51am CST by Luke Adams

Hornets forward Miles Bridges met the “starter criteria” on Friday when he appeared in Charlotte’s starting lineup for the 41st time this season. The starter criteria applies to players who are eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, and dictates the amount of their qualifying offer. By meeting the criteria, Bridges ensured his qualifying offer will increase to $7,921,300.

The amount of Bridges’ qualifying offer probably won’t have much of an impact on his free agency. He’s having a breakout season and is a good bet to be paid in excess of $20MM per year on his next contract, so accepting his one-year QO likely won’t be an option he seriously considers, even now that it’s worth a little more.

Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate also met the starter criteria on Friday by making his 41st start of the season, but Houston holds a minimum-salary team option on Tate for the 2022/23 season, so he won’t reach restricted free agency until ’23, assuming he’s not extended before then.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Wizards announced today that Pat Delany, who was serving as the team’s acting head coach while Wes Unseld Jr. is in the COVID-19 protocols, has entered the protocols himself. Assistant Joseph Blair, Washington’s new acting head coach, told reporters that star guard Bradley Beal has exited the protocols and will be a game-time decision on Monday (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic).
In an article for The Athletic, Robbins and David Aldridge discussed the Wizards‘ needs and identified some possible trade targets for the team, including Jerami Grant, Harrison Barnes, and Thaddeus Young.
Heat guard Kyle Lowry won’t face his old team for the first time on Monday after all, having been ruled out of Miami’s game vs. Toronto for personal reasons, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.
Veteran guard Mario Chalmers admitted he was disappointed not to play at all during his recent 10-day stint with the Heat, but said he didn’t want to be a “disruption” for the team and is looking forward to proving with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, that he deserves another shot at the NBA level. “Hopefully another 10-day comes out of it and I get signed for the rest of the year,” Chalmers said, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Wizards’ Sheppard Talks Beal, Dinwiddie, Hachimura, Bryant, More

January 12th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The maximum-salary contract extension the Wizards offered to Bradley Beal in October remains on the table and will stay there all season long, general manager Tommy Sheppard told Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Beal may end up opting for free agency – where he could earn a longer, more lucrative deal with Washington or explore other destinations – but Sheppard wants to make sure the All-Star guard knows the extension is still an option.

“There’s no reason to take it off. It stands all year. He can sign it all season,” Sheppard said. “I’ve never been anything but transparent. We delivered it the first day that it was available. That’s out of respect to him. He’s an All-NBA player, and we expect him to be an All-Star again this year, and I think he’ll be there at the end for All-NBA. That’s a matter of respect. I think for him he’s going to do what’s very best in his interest. And for the franchise, it’s the same.”

With no guarantee that Beal will eventually sign a new contract, Robbins wondered if the Wizards might have to at least consider the possibility of trading him by the February 10 deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing. However, that doesn’t appear to be a path Sheppard is exploring. The general manager told Robbins that the club remains focused on keeping and building around Beal and believes the 28-year-old remains committed to that plan too.

“I understand the question,” Sheppard said. “I can only keep coming back to the same things I say over and over again: We have constant dialogue. And I’ve been very transparent. He’s been very transparent. We want the same things. We want this to work, and I see every reason to believe we’ll keep moving forward.”

Here are a few more highlights from Sheppard’s conversation with Robbins:

Sheppard isn’t concerned about the fact that the Wizards have been outscored by 5.5 points per 100 possessions when Beal and Spencer Dinwiddie share the court. He preached patience and still believes the two guards complement each other well. “Last I checked, Spencer’s got a three-year deal, not a 40-game deal,” Sheppard said. “It takes time for things to kind of come together. They’ve still got to figure out each other. … Forty games isn’t enough to say this is working or not working. We’ve seen it when it can really work. We’ve seen that they can play well.”
Asked about Washington’s up-and-down performance so far this season, Sheppard pointed out that injuries and the COVID-19 protocols have created an “incomplete picture” of the team’s potential. The Wizards’ GM referred to Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant as two of “our probably top six guys or seven guys” and said he’s looking forward to seeing what they bring to the current group.
Sheppard, who has spoken in the past about the Wizards making steady improvements as they build around Beal, believes they’re still headed in the right direction. “I think that our roster has some balance,” Sheppard said, referring to the club’s mix of youngsters and veterans. “I think our contracts are balanced-out now. I think that gives you an opportunity, especially around the deadline, to look and see if there’s a way to improve your team. Certainly in the offseason, it gives us opportunities to do things. So I’m really excited with where we’re at.”

COVID-19 Updates: Beal, Gill, Pacers, Pritchard, Young, Sixers

January 12th, 2022 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

Wizards guard Bradley Beal re-entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Tuesday, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. It’s Beal’s second protocol-related absence within the last month — he missed three games between December 23-28 due to contact tracing, Robbins notes.

Unlike last season, when any player determined to be a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was placed in the protocols, those guidelines only apply to unvaccinated players this season. Beal began the season unvaccinated, but confirmed when he returned in late December that he had recently received the vaccine. That could mean his absence this time around isn’t related to contact tracing, and that he returned a positive or inconclusive test.

The Wizards did get one piece of good news on Tuesday afternoon, as forward Anthony Gill exited the protocols, per Robbins (Twitter link). That means Beal is currently the only Washington player affected.

Here are more protocol-related updates from around the NBA:

The Pacers announced on Tuesday that Caris LeVert and Goga Bitadze have exited the health and safety protocols, as James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star writes. Both players have a chance to be available on Wednesday vs. Boston. They’re listed as questionable for now.
The Celtics no longer have any players in the COVID-19 protocols, as guard Payton Pritchard has been cleared, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).
Spurs forward Thaddeus Young is no longer in the health and safety protocols, tweets Paul Garcia of Project Spurs. However, San Antonio still has five players in the protocols, tied with Utah for the highest current total in the league.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and forward Paul Reed aren’t listed on the team’s latest injury report, indicating that they’ve both cleared the protocols (Twitter links via Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
Of approximately 2,400 “tier 1” staffers working for NBA teams, there have been more than 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 this season, creating major challenges for franchises, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. “You’re basically taking an assembly of people who help the athletes and taking a few people off the line every few days for a week or more,” one athletic training official told ESPN. “It has interfered significantly with the regular protocols and people being given responsibilities/duties they don’t normally have or are even qualified to do in order to get the job done. It’s been the Wild Wild West.”

Southeast Notes: Herro, Heat, Gallinari, Beal

January 9th, 2022 at 8:50pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat guard Tyler Herro believes his tumultuous 2020/21 campaign has helped him succeed this season, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Herro has showed improvement from last season, raising his averages across the board for Miami thus far.

“I think I’m more mature,” Herro said. “I’ve been through, not everything, but enough now to know what to expect, really. Just having a couple years under my belt, things change quickly in this league. So just being able to adjust, make adjustments on the fly, stay ready and just continuing to put the work in every single game. I’m just worrying about the end goal and the end result.”

Herro averaged 15.1 points and 3.4 assists in 30.3 minutes per game last season, shooting 43.9% from the floor and 36% from deep. Those averages have increased to 20.6 PPG and 3.9 APG in 32.8 MPG this season, shooting 42.7% from the field and 38.8% from downtown.

Here are some other notes out of the Southeast:

The Heat are moving on from their six 10-day hardship players with appreciation for their efforts, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Two-time champion Mario Chalmers is among the players Miami signed as the team dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak, but Chalmers never saw any action. The club is now 25-15, good for third in the Eastern Conference.
Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari would like to remain in Atlanta throughout the rest of the season, he told SkySport (as relayed by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The NBA’s trade deadline falls on February 10 this year. “I am ready to stay and I would love to remain for the remainder of the season because a change of a team is never easy, for several reasons. But anything can happen,” Gallinari said.
Wizards star Bradley Beal isn’t concerned by not receiving many All-Star votes to date, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. Beal wasn’t included in the top-10 rankings of the NBA’s first fan voting returns last week. “Yeah, I’ve seen it,” Beal said. “You know me, it’s the same every year or every other year. I control what I can control, I don’t control the fan voting or anyone that votes for that matter.”