Bradley Beal - Part II

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

WizarDynasty, welcome back!

[TheSecretWeapon]

Beal is average at best. Undersized with no post games. the only reason his numbers are inflated is because he milks off of Wall's hard work.

All he has to do is sit in one spot, catch and shoot wide open 3 pointers. He doesn't create mismatches ever. He is below average defensively.

He is an average shooting guard with inflated stats. When he shows that he can get the line at will, then and only then will i consider him even close to above average player because he can't shut a guy down defensively.

We need a serge ibaka like player for kevin durant next year. I would trade beal in a second. I hope we sign anderson to a moderate contract and send beal and his max contract desires to another team for assets. I predict that anderson will outplay beal.

I think oubre has far more potential than Beal.

Welcome back. The numbers actually agree with you on Beal being average. He's been better than average in the playoffs, but not overwhelmingly so. I'd hoped to see more progress in his third season, but he's still very young so a breakout 4th year remains a distinct possibility.

[verbal8]

Given his production to this point is there any reason to offer a deal before he enters restricted free agency?

[stevemcqueen1]

Given his production to this point is there any reason to offer a deal before he enters restricted free agency?

Not unless he accepts a sub max deal. Otherwise his cap hold is cheaper next summer than a max deal signed this summer.

If he wants a max, let him earn it this season.

FWIW, I think he will. I think he'll be an AS next season.

[J-Ves]

I would consider trading Beal this season, even if the return was $.50 on the the dollar due to his impending FA. Paying max money to a guy who is average is one of the worst things you can do in terms of team building in the NBA.

Of course, its all about KD2DC, and you have to wonder how such a trade would affect His decision. After all, while coming home might be KD's top reason for choosing the Wizards, playing with Wall, Beal, Porter, Oubre and Gortat in a weak conference is also a strong selling point. Without Beal in the fold, would that dissuade KD from coming to DC? Its probably a real fear for the Wiz front office and likely means keeping Beal is a top priority no matter the cost.

[stevemcqueen1]

Beal's not average though. He's a burgeoning All Star that exploded down the stretch and in the playoffs.

I think it's a clear mistake to assume that 21 year old Beal during an injury riddled season = the full extent of his potential. Trade him now or let him walk and he's going to blow up and make us regret it for the rest of his career.

[Illmatic12]

Beal is average at best. Undersized with no post games. the only reason his numbers are inflated is because he milks off of Wall's hard work.

All he has to do is sit in one spot, catch and shoot wide open 3 pointers. He doesn't create mismatches ever. He is below average defensively.

He is an average shooting guard with inflated stats. When he shows that he can get the line at will, then and only then will i consider him even close to above average player because he can't shut a guy down defensively.

We need a serge ibaka like player for kevin durant next year. I would trade beal in a second. I hope we sign anderson to a moderate contract and send beal and his max contract desires to another team for assets. I predict that anderson will outplay beal.

I think oubre has far more potential than Beal.

I would have agreed with you until Beal let his nuts hang in the Hawks series without Wall. He avged like 24/5/5 and shut down Korver over all 6 games. The kid can frickin ball, I think you're wrong about him.

I also believe that Beal was coasting in the regular season, and (from things I've heard) is one of the main guys Pierce was talking about who liked to 'party' during the season and didn't focus every night. It's time to earn his $$$ now, and I think we're going to see a more focused Beal next year. And with Pierce gone and Nene to the bench, no one in the lineup will step on his toes, in terms of demanding the ball. He's going to put his game on full display next season.

I don't think Beal is a future MVP or anything, but out of the young SGs in the league he's one I would bet on to be really good in the near future (along with Oladipo, Middleton, Wiggins). The fact that he already comfortably shoots 40%+ from three is a very strong point, floor spacing is huge in today's game.

[DCZards]

A 21 year old Bryce Harper was beset by injuries last season and had a subpar regular season. But he turned it on in the postseason and has continued that stellar play into this MLB season.

A 21 year old Bradley Beal was beset by injuries last season and had a subpar regular season. But he turned it on in the postseason and....

...to be continued.

[Higga]

The Beal I saw vs. Toronto and Atlanta is what I want to see over an 82 game season. It's great that he shows up in the playoffs but we need him playing like that all year long so we can win a lot of games and get a high seed to make our chances at a title(not necessarily this year but in future years)higher.

[nate33]

I also believe that Beal was coasting in the regular season, and (from things I've heard) is one of the main guys Pierce was talking about who liked to 'party' during the season and didn't focus every night.

Really?

What have you heard beyond Pierce's rather vague reference to the young guys partying too much? My sense is that Pierce was referencing Wall more so than Beal. Wall comes across as a more of an outgoing, party animal type. Beal seems more chill and more of an introvert. There's also Beal's constant tweeting about his faith.

[Rafael122]

I also believe that Beal was coasting in the regular season, and (from things I've heard) is one of the main guys Pierce was talking about who liked to 'party' during the season and didn't focus every night.

Really?

What have you heard beyond Pierce's rather vague reference to the young guys partying too much? My sense is that Pierce was referencing Wall more so than Beal. Wall comes across as a more of an outgoing, party animal type. Beal seems more chill and more of an introvert. There's also Beal's constant tweeting about his faith.

Beal likes to club. Maybe not as much as Wall, but I've seen him in several clubs. He keeps a low profile hence why you don't read about it as much. Also helps that his entourage are his brothers pretty much.

[Severn Hoos]

I would consider trading Beal this season, even if the return was $.50 on the the dollar due to his impending FA. Paying max money to a guy who is average is one of the worst things you can do in terms of team building in the NBA.

Of course, its all about KD2DC, and you have to wonder how such a trade would affect His decision. After all, while coming home might be KD's top reason for choosing the Wizards, playing with Wall, Beal, Porter, Oubre and Gortat in a weak conference is also a strong selling point. Without Beal in the fold, would that dissuade KD from coming to DC? Its probably a real fear for the Wiz front office and likely means keeping Beal is a top priority no matter the cost.

Keep in mind that having Beal in hand could make him available in a trade back to OKC if KD tells them he's definitely signing with the Wiz. Consider this scenario:

Wiz and Beal don't agree on an extension, so he plays this year with no long-term contract and FA looming. Next summer, Wiz contact KD, and KD agrees to come to the Wiz. KD informs OKC, and asks if they can work out a Sign-and-trade.

OKC publicly says no, but it always works out that once they know their guy is gone, his previous team comes around to play ball because it's better for them to get something rather than to let him go for nothing. Maybe we turn around and S&T Beal for one of their young bigs? Reeling in (for example) McGary while also preserving cap space to fill out the post-S&T roster would be a pretty nice turn of events.

I love Beal and hope he stays with the team long-term. But if sending him away could bring in KD, and give us some extra cap room to fill out the roster, I'd give it some serious thought.

And of course, if we don't get KD, then we'd rather have Beal that not have Beal anyway, so no reason to trade him for anything less than full value. (like, maybe in a Cousins trade...)

[Illmatic12]

I also believe that Beal was coasting in the regular season, and (from things I've heard) is one of the main guys Pierce was talking about who liked to 'party' during the season and didn't focus every night.

Really?

What have you heard beyond Pierce's rather vague reference to the young guys partying too much? My sense is that Pierce was referencing Wall more so than Beal. Wall comes across as a more of an outgoing, party animal type. Beal seems more chill and more of an introvert. There's also Beal's constant tweeting about his faith.

Wall brought his lunchpail every single game and played his butt off, he is now a grown man and professional. Even though he parties, at this stage in his career he knows that basketball is his life and comes first. This past season was the first time I didn't notice any outside issues affecting Wall's play at any point. Even when we went through the losing streak John was by far our most consistent player, and the least cause of our problems.

Beal definitely parties during the season, personally I can tell you that for a fact. His uninspired play was also a significant issue in the starting lineup for various stretches in the season. Brad obviously has a great PR team and received good advice, he's very professional and keeps a clean, lowkey demeanor in the public eye. But that doesn't mean he isn't still a typical 21/22yo kid with some maturing to do. It's quite obvious imo, and his inconsistency and passivity at times is proof, that he sometimes lets outside factors affect his play. Not saying it was 100% due to partying or anything, it could be personal issues or w/e but clearly he isn't fully emotionally mature and steady yet.


If I had to pick one Wizard who had the most variation in their focus/effort level throughout the regular season, it was Beal. He's the one guy who other fans looks at this Wizards team and say "Why isn't he doing more?" It's not like anyone is taking shots from him. I think he got discouraged when he kept getting injured, and then held back with the minutes limit. What I saw last season was he didn't even bother shooting a lot of games, and others he'd just coast around shooting pullup Js and wouldn't try to make plays with the ball.

Pierce was quoted all season urging Beal to take the mantle and step up as a star, well there was nothing stopping him. He just didn't bother doing it until the postseason. Well he knows that it's $$$ time now. If Beal doesn't come in next season focused, he's going to lose millions upon millions of dollars. Let's see what type of demeanor he comes in with next season, I think we'll see him actively try to take the lead on this team.

[nate33]

I would consider trading Beal this season, even if the return was $.50 on the the dollar due to his impending FA. Paying max money to a guy who is average is one of the worst things you can do in terms of team building in the NBA.

Of course, its all about KD2DC, and you have to wonder how such a trade would affect His decision. After all, while coming home might be KD's top reason for choosing the Wizards, playing with Wall, Beal, Porter, Oubre and Gortat in a weak conference is also a strong selling point. Without Beal in the fold, would that dissuade KD from coming to DC? Its probably a real fear for the Wiz front office and likely means keeping Beal is a top priority no matter the cost.

Keep in mind that having Beal in hand could make him available in a trade back to OKC if KD tells them he's definitely signing with the Wiz. Consider this scenario:

Wiz and Beal don't agree on an extension, so he plays this year with no long-term contract and FA looming. Next summer, Wiz contact KD, and KD agrees to come to the Wiz. KD informs OKC, and asks if they can work out a Sign-and-trade.

OKC publicly says no, but it always works out that once they know their guy is gone, his previous team comes around to play ball because it's better for them to get something rather than to let him go for nothing. Maybe we turn around and S&T Beal for one of their young bigs? Reeling in (for example) McGary while also preserving cap space to fill out the post-S&T roster would be a pretty nice turn of events.

I love Beal and hope he stays with the team long-term. But if sending him away could bring in KD, and give us some extra cap room to fill out the roster, I'd give it some serious thought.

And of course, if we don't get KD, then we'd rather have Beal that not have Beal anyway, so no reason to trade him for anything less than full value. (like, maybe in a Cousins trade...)

I don't think that scenario is likely, SevernHoos. If Durant is willing to leave OKC, then his goal would be to join a team with a lot of talent. Surely, Durant would prefer to join a team with Beal than one without him.

[DCZards]

Beal is definitely someone whose mood and attitude changes depending on how well he is or isn't playing. You can see it in Beal's body language. And you can also see it in how he'll sometimes get real passive offensively. However, I think very little, if any, of it has to do with what's happening off the court...like clubbing.

I like to think that Beal's play in last year's playoffs, as well as the natural maturation of a guy in his early 20s, will be a launching pad for an outstanding 2015-16 season for BB.

I agree that Beal's not untradeable if the right deal comes along. But, unlike others here, I'm not comfortable with trading him for Cousins. Cousins is an awesome talent but he's a wild card as far as attitude and maturity are concerned. I could see Cousins having issues with the Zards' front office and/or coaching, maybe even eventually demanding a trade.

[nate33]

Beal is definitely someone whose mood and attitude changes depending on how well he is or isn't playing. You can see it in Beal's body language. And you can also see it in how he'll sometimes get real passive offensively. However, I think very little, if any, of it has to do with what's happening off the court...like clubbing.

I like to think that Beal's play in last year's playoffs, as well as the natural maturation of a guy in his early 20s, will be a launching pad for an outstanding 2015-16 season for BB.

I agree that Beal's not untradeable if the right deal comes along. But, unlike others here, I'm not comfortable with trading him for Cousins. Cousins is an awesome talent but he's a wild card as far as attitude and maturity are concerned. I could see Cousins having issues with the Zards' front office and/or coaching, maybe even eventually demanding a trade.

Agreed. It's a pretty big leap to assume that Beal's inconsistent play was due to clubbing.

[BruceO]

I also believe that Beal was coasting in the regular season, and (from things I've heard) is one of the main guys Pierce was talking about who liked to 'party' during the season and didn't focus every night.

Really?

What have you heard beyond Pierce's rather vague reference to the young guys partying too much? My sense is that Pierce was referencing Wall more so than Beal. Wall comes across as a more of an outgoing, party animal type. Beal seems more chill and more of an introvert. There's also Beal's constant tweeting about his faith.

Beal likes to club. Maybe not as much as Wall, but I've seen him in several clubs. He keeps a low profile hence why you don't read about it as much. Also helps that his entourage are his brothers pretty much.

Makes me wonder. I don't want to start any rumours. It just reminded me of this blind item in that Hollywood street king blog. It was talking about a wizard player who's a young star with a high threshold for pain. That the guy has his brother going to cop some coke for him. Commenters were all guessing wall but at the time I was like Wall doesn't have any brothers. I wonder if low key it could be Beal if the story has any legs.

I hadn't given it it much thought till you guys started talking about his partying. Don't let this skew your conception of Beal though I'm just connecting the two stories and why it came out

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Beal is definitely someone whose mood and attitude changes depending on how well he is or isn't playing. You can see it in Beal's body language. And you can also see it in how he'll sometimes get real passive offensively. However, I think very little, if any, of it has to do with what's happening off the court...like clubbing.

I like to think that Beal's play in last year's playoffs, as well as the natural maturation of a guy in his early 20s, will be a launching pad for an outstanding 2015-16 season for BB.

I agree that Beal's not untradeable if the right deal comes along. But, unlike others here, I'm not comfortable with trading him for Cousins. Cousins is an awesome talent but he's a wild card as far as attitude and maturity are concerned. I could see Cousins having issues with the Zards' front office and/or coaching, maybe even eventually demanding a trade.

Even I am not comfortable with the idea of trading a great kid like Beal for Cousins.

I think he's going to be over compensated, however. Beal's salary is what I see being the only mitigating condition in making a deal.

As for Cousins, he's averaged less than 30 wins for 5 seasons. I foresee him becoming media savvy and an MVP candidate as a Wizard. Washington would win 50+ games, and possibly get to the Finals right away. Cousins and Gortat would be just as good or better than Zach and Marc Gasol.

[jangles86]

Please get rid of Wittman before trading Beal.
Beal under a decent coach will be an all star.

[Ruzious]

I would consider trading Beal this season, even if the return was $.50 on the the dollar due to his impending FA. Paying max money to a guy who is average is one of the worst things you can do in terms of team building in the NBA.

Of course, its all about KD2DC, and you have to wonder how such a trade would affect His decision. After all, while coming home might be KD's top reason for choosing the Wizards, playing with Wall, Beal, Porter, Oubre and Gortat in a weak conference is also a strong selling point. Without Beal in the fold, would that dissuade KD from coming to DC? Its probably a real fear for the Wiz front office and likely means keeping Beal is a top priority no matter the cost.

But the return would likely be closer to $1.25 on the dollar than 50 cents. You hear people around the NBA raving about what a great player Beal is becoming. His trade value appears to far exceed his performance - up to this point.

Beal will likely cost more than Wall to sign - not to mention more than Cousins. A good GM looks at that and makes a determination about whether or not that is a problem. I think it is, so I would look at options very seriously. And with Gortat, while his contract is reasonable, he's over 30 and will be relied on to carry the load in the middle - which might be more than he's capable of. Cousins getting paid somewhere between Gortat and Beal makes him a bargain - so not only is he a great player, he's got a great contract, and he's young. And it's very convenient that Sac has a guy like McLemore that could be plugged right into the Beal role. The Wiz actually save money - significant money - in a Beal, Gortat, and Oubre (even more if you put Porter in and take Oubre out) trade for Cousins and McLemore. They can then afford to get front court depth and sign Sato next offseason. Maybe most importantly, it should make the team much more appealable to Durant.