donemilio21 wrote:I don't believe we have any reasons to engage with Wizards for Beal until we strike out with the FA targets we have. We worked hard to create cap space for two max contracts, aka superstars (not klay thompson).
Beal is a pretty good player. an all-star no doubt. But we need MVP caliber guys. Also Wizards have no reason to deal Beal, unless they are committing to a rebuild. in the east they are still relevant.
I don’t think Washington is relevant in the East. If your definition of relevant is a .500 team--they’re (well) below that. If your definition is making the playoffs—they’re in contention and it’s kind of a possibility—but they’re 11th in the conference right now. If your definition of relevant is “improving”—they’ve not doing that either; they’ve gone from 48 wins to 41 wins to, probably, around 36 wins this year (if they go .500 the rest of the way…which isn’t a great bet either). The Wiz are in the worst sort of no-man’s-land—not good enough to make the playoffs, not bad enough to get a super high draft pick to get a savior or significant help, too near the max to get help via free agency.
They’ve also got the problem of Portis and Parker—who need to be resigned. Jabari Parker has a team option for $20 million—but why let him go? He’s a good player, and they wouldn’t gain any cap space by letting him go. The Wiz are over $90 million next year … and that’s without Dwight Howard’s player option, trying to resign Satoransky, and without the qualifying offers for Dekker and Portis. Portis is going to make (a lot) more too—they’ll need to lock him in. And that means they’re done with cap space for two years after this offseason.
Unless, that is, they trade Beal and get a faster expiring big contract, some youth and players (and, man the Wiz need bodies out there—if they let Dekker go, and Howard picks up his option and they resign/keep Satoransky and Portis, they’ll have 8 players under contract … including this year’s draft pick), and a future pick(s). If Washington was on the rise and didn’t have the financial shackles they do, I might agree with you. But that isn’t the case. They aren’t getting better. They aren’t a happy team. The salaries of Mahinmi and Wall alone next year takes up $54 million; Parker and Beal and Howard would put that at $106 million. They have zero financial flexibility for the next two years as it is.
The main this is whether Beal wants to go—because if he does, he’s got value. The Wiz said they want to keep him. Which is what they said about Otto Porter. We could up our offer if we had to so that it included our pick this year, along with Gallo, Rome, and Shamet. If you’re going to rebuild, an expiring contract on a player who fits onto your current team, as well as a lottery pick, and two good young players is a pretty good deal.
I agree with you about wanting/needing an MVP player or two. But, keep in mind
Gallo+Rome+Shamet+This Year’s Pick = $31.5 million (about)
Bradley Beal = $27.1 million
So this doesn’t
hurt our ability to sign players. It
increases it.
Last thing—I’d love to get two max players. I think it’s highly unlikely. LeBron had (past tense) the charisma and ability to pull in multiple players. I don’t see Durant or Kawhi, as great as they are, being like that. It’s possible that someone will get two big FAs; if it happens, I think we’ll be the place it happens. But I think it’s (much) more likely that the FAs will be spread out and we’ll get one.
