There are only a handful of NBA stars who have stuck with one team for the duration of their career in this current era of basketball.
Former Florida one-and-done star Bradley Beal has spent nine seasons with the Washington Wizards where they’ve been stuck in mediocrity. Washington has only made the playoffs five times where it has failed to escape the first two rounds of the postseason.
Sports Illustrated NBA writer Howard Beck wrote a column about how much longer Beal can take playing for one of the bottom dwellers in the NBA who is currently facing another first-round exit.
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Beck and other NBA front-office executives believe it’s time that Beal embraces change while he remains in the prime of his career. The former Gators shooting guard has proven he’s one of the best scorers in the league, averaging 30 points per game the last two seasons.
I agree with Beck and the executives he spoke with that it’s time for Beal to ask for a trade. He has been snubbed for individual awards due to his team’s poor play and hasn’t sniffed playoff success. I also think it would work out well for both sides in the long run.
For Beal, he can join a contender with another or a pair of superstars next season like when James Harden was traded from the Rockets to the Nets. He has been great to Washington and his loyalty to the Wizards should be greatly appreciated.
Washington would benefit from trading him because it can finally escape this wash, rinse and repeat cycle of making the playoffs and then being eliminated shortly thereafter. Trading for former Houston point guard Russell Westbrook helped satisfy Beal, but Westbrook turns 33 in November and his level of play has started to decline.
If the Wizards hit the reset button, they can get draft capital and a host of young players in return for Beal because he’s under contract until 2022-2023. For example, the Thunder got five first-round picks, two pick swaps and a budding all-star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Paul George.
They can also have a better chance of earning a higher draft pick to build around Rui Hachimura, their top pick in 2019.
Both parties would have a greater chance of achieving their goals if Beal asked for a trade out of Washington.
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