Washington Wizards Must Re-Sign Bradley Beal To Long-Term Contract

By Dave Daniels

The Washington Wizards recently hired Scott Brooks as their new head coach, and that was a move which should help the development of their young players going forward. But the Wizards must now focus on re-signing Bradley Beal to a long-term contract.

Thankfully, he is a restricted free agent, so Washington can match any offer that is made to him. However, it would be nice to sign him for a little bit less than the maximum so that they have more cap room moving forward.

Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld is hopeful that the two sides can reach a consensus, because he knows how rare it is to have a backcourt containing talents like John Wall and Beal. The shooting guard has been clear about his intentions all along.

“I want to be here. I don’t know,” Beal said to the Washington Post. “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.”

The Wizards own Beal’s Bird rights, which means they have nine days into free agency before they have to ink any deals with him. This gives Washington some time to attract another star free agent, and they’ll certainly be looking to meet with Kevin Durant in particular. The Wizards will probably have to settle for someone like Al Horford or Dwight Howard after Durant passes on them.

A max contract would pay Beal around $20.7 million per season, and Washington is the only team that can offer him a five-year deal. Beal made $5.7 million this season, and he’ll certainly get a pay bump going into next year. The Wizards will try talking him down from a max deal, but if another team offers him that, then they’ll have to match it.

Washington was one of the most disappointing teams in the league this season, but you can’t blame Wall or Beal for that. Beal will definitely need to work on taking better care of his body in the future, because he’s had stress reactions in his right fibula during each of his first four seasons.

Beal averaged a career-high 17.4 points per game this year, and he is still younger than some of the players getting drafted this summer. The Wizards must keep him around if they want to build themselves into a contender.

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