Trade Scenario No. 1 – Washington Wizards

Golden State Warriors Receive: G Bradley Beal

Washington Wizards Receive: F Andrew Wiggins, MIN 2021 1st Round Pick, GSW 2025 1st Round Pick

The Washington Wizards made a big move this offseason when they acquired former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook from the Houston Rockets in exchange for a first-round pick and John Wall. The Wizards have gone all-in on their opportunity to utilize two All-Stars like Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal in their primes, but could Washington wind up trading Bradley Beal?

Not only was Bradley Beal snubbed from the All-Star game last year, but he was also snubbed from making an All-NBA team after a fantastic season. Although the Wizards were not a great team last year, Beal averaged 30.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and shot 45.5% from the floor and 35.3% from three-point range. 

He is exactly the type of player the Warriors need, especially with no Klay Thompson once again this season. Outside of Steph Curry, Golden State is really struggling to find offensive production, which is why they need to pull the trigger and make a trade for a guy like Bradley Beal. 

While Washington may not be keen on the idea of trading away Beal, especially after acquiring Westbrook, they would be getting a pretty good return for him. Andrew Wiggins has struggled early on this year, but last season, averaged 21.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and shot 44.7% from the floor, 33.2% from three-point range in 54 total games. 

Getting a player like Wiggins who has All-Star potential, as well as two very valuable first-round picks is a pretty fair offer for a guy like Bradley Beal, it is just a matter of if Washington is willing to part with Beal. 

Bradley Beal’s offensive talents are known around the NBA and adding him to this team with Steph Curry could end up being very dangerous. While Wiggins shows promise to be a great two-way player when this team is at full-strength, the Warriors do not have time to wait around while losing games, which is why Golden State would likely be willing to make this trade.

While the Warriors could really use the Minnesota first-round pick they would be trading away to the Wizards, it would make sense for them to trade it if they were getting a player of Beal’s caliber in return. Having a duo of Steph Curry and Beal this season in the backcourt, and then having Beal moving forward would be extremely valuable for the Warriors and could keep them as championship contenders for the next several years.

This year is going to be hard for the Warriors given that they will be without Klay Thompson and while they want to do everything they can to make the playoffs and contend for an NBA championship, it will not happen with Andrew Wiggins as the second scoring option on the team. They will definitely have more success this season and moving forward with a talent like Bradley Beal.