As losers of 10 straight games, the Washington Wizards are in no shape to compete for a title this season. Even with Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma, the Wizards are one of the worst teams in basketball and are doomed to spend their season in purgatory.
In light of their current situation, fans have been pushing for the Wizards to trade everybody and go all-in for Victor Wembanyama. But according to the latest report from Wizards beat writer Josh Robbins, they are still set on building around Beal.
They don’t. Knowing how rare All-Star-caliber players are — heck, there are only a total of 24 of them each season — they want to keep Beal and upgrade the roster around him, going with a “middle-build” strategy.
Washington could have traded him a couple of years ago, when his value was at its highest, and didn’t. Washington also wasn’t interested in trading him last season before he suffered a season-ending ligament tear in his left wrist in late January.
Because the team gave him a no-trade clause in his new contract, he would have to go to the Wizards’ front office — where he has great relationships with president and general manager Tommy Sheppard and team owner Ted Leonsis — and ask for a trade. And the Wizards, in turn, would have to be willing to move him.
Somehow, the Wizards are still resistant to the idea of a rebuild. Instead, they want to re-tool and re-pivot around Beal, who is owed $249 million over the next five years.
Can Bradley Beal Win With The Washington Wizards?
Often dubbed as the worst contract in basketball, Bradley Beal is getting paid superstar money without actually playing like one. That fact is why the Wizards were the only team willing to offer Beal so much money and why he ultimately decided to stick around despite the team’s lack of success.
“There were no teams in the market, free-agency-wise. I’m just being frank,” said Beal. “There was nowhere else for me to go where I can be like, ‘Oh, I can go win.’ It was teams that strategically wasn’t what I wanted.”
For better or worse, Bradley Beal is stuck with the Wizards for the time being. The question is, can they ever build a contending roster around him?
So far, they have been unsuccessful, but there’s still time to make things right.
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