In Portland, Oregon, fans rejoiced after seeing the news of Damian Lillard’s two-year, $122 million extension this week. The same can be said for the Wizards, who recently agreed to terms on a supermax contract with Bradley Beal.
On the surface, it looks like great news for both teams. But in an article, John Hollinger of Bleacher Report questioned the moves and explained why both teams could come to regret bringing back their stars on such huge deals.
When it comes to superstar contract talks, some teams negotiate … and others capitulate. The differences in the implications for their franchises couldn’t be more profound, as we’ve seen in the last week especially. Most notably for the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards, it could mark a regrettable turning point in their franchise timelines.
You might not have noticed it in the wake of the mind-gobbling sums of money in the headlines, but an important thing happened in the $193 million max contract extensions for both Zion Williamson and Ja Morant: They did not contain fifth-year player options. A similar thing happened a year ago with Brooklyn’s rich extension to Kevin Durant.
Contrast those deals with the recent cases of Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard — where it almost felt like the teams handed over pens and let the players fill in whatever — and the difference becomes obvious. It’s the difference between negotiation for mutual benefit and total surrender.
Alas, the Blazers and Wizards are still learning that lesson. It’s been clear the best pathway forward for each team would be to trade their All-Star guards for Rudy Gobert-esque hauls of players and picks. While Lillard and Beal are capable of playing for many more years, they are likely at the tail end of their peak seasons.
Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard are both great, high-impact players. Nobody is arguing otherwise. But at 29 and 31 respectively, both players are closer to the end of their prime than the beginning.
Plus, with very little success over the past few years, the Blazers and Wizards clearly need to do more if they want to win when it counts the most.
The only way for these teams to truly stick it to the haters is if they build the best team possible and make the run that fans have been anticipating for years.
