The Washington Wizards came to a fork in the road this offseason. The fate of the franchise for the next few years was hanging in the balance after Bradley Beal declined his player option for the 2022-23 NBA season, becoming an unrestricted free agent.
It never really felt like Beal considered leaving the Wizards, as all signs even during the regular season pointed to him returning to D.C. Beal has been pushed by people around the league to request a trade, but he never gave in.
There were opportunities for him previously in his career, such as in 2019 when his first max contract expired, that he could have forced his way out of town. Instead, he signed an extension to remain with the franchise.
Almost as soon as free agency began, it was announced that Beal was returning to the Wizards. The two sides agreed to a five-year max contract that Beal will earn $251 million, the second-largest total of all time in the NBA.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Washington Wizards Shake Up Bradley Beal’s Supporting Cast Before Free Agency
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Beal has a lot of the things you want in a franchise player. He does incredible work off the court, as he won the NBA Cares Community Assist Award in 2019. Beal is everything you want in terms of someone representing the organization outside of just playing basketball.
He wants to win with the team that drafted him and is very loyal to the franchise. Beal said it himself during the press conference to announce the new contract.
“Winning a championship here would mean the world to me. That would mean more than up, leaving, and playing with four other All-Stars. I firmly believe in my heart that I can win here.”
Can that level of winning occur in Washington? A healthy debate can be had about whether or not that was the right decision for the Wizards to make.
Washington hasn’t proven they can build a winner around Beal during his career, as the team has made the postseason only five times in his 10 seasons. But, there are people on the other side of the coin who believe if the Wizards have any hopes of turning things around, they need Beal and losing him would have crippled the franchise.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Washington Wizards Shake Up Bradley Beal’s Supporting Cast Before Free Agency
Well, they are going to be tied together at the hip for the foreseeable future as Bradley Beal is now the most powerful player in the NBA. That is something people will be surprised to read, but he received more than just a max contract from the Wizards.
The numbers of the deal are staggering themselves, but when you dig a little bit, the deal becomes that much more shocking. Beal has a player option for the final season of the contract, which will be worth $57.1 million. A 15 percent trade kicker also exists, which will make it difficult for the Wizards to extract value should they want to trade Beal as a team will be paying even more money.
However, what pushes this deal over the top and makes Beal the most powerful player in the league is the full no-trade clause that he received. He qualified as he has been in the NBA for at least eight seasons and four with the team offering him a contract.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Washington Wizards Shake Up Bradley Beal’s Supporting Cast Before Free Agency
How rare are no-trade clauses in the NBA? Beal is going to be only the 10th player in league history to receive one and there isn’t another player in the league that currently possesses one. LeBron James in his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, David Robinson and John Stockton were the first nine to receive one.
Stephen Curry didn’t even receive one from the Golden State Warriors during negotiations for his last contract, which speaks volumes to just how unprecedented a deal it is that Beal agreed to with the Wizards.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Washington Wizards Shake Up Bradley Beal’s Supporting Cast Before Free Agency
If things go south, Beal has full control over where he goes. We have seen players exert some will and determine where they are traded in recent years, but Beal will have full say over where he would end up should he ask for a trade at any point during this contract.
However, it is something that owner Ted Leonis does not see happening. The no-trade clause was included because Beal doesn’t want to be traded and the Wizards don’t want to trade him. The clause is viewed as a point of partnership, not as one of leverage for Beal down the line.
I suppose we will have to see how things transpire in the next few years. The Wizards are going to be hard-pressed to upgrade the roster much as they do not have a first-round pick to trade until 2028 and are lacking surefire blue-chip players on the roster.
The road to contending is a long, daunting one for the Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal but they are committed, at least for now, to travel it together.
