The Washington Wizards entered the 2020-21 season with high expectations. After finishing the 2019-20 season as the best team in the Eastern Conference to miss the playoffs, Washington decided to go further in on making the playoffs. With the aid of the new play-in format, the Wizards remained competitive and made it into the postseason as the eight-seed.
Despite the late surge and barely meeting expectations, Beal is finally contemplating asking for a trade prior to the NBA draft, according to Shams Charania. The Wizards aren’t going to be able to compete at a championship level anytime soon, and Beal is at the peak of his prime. With one more year left on his deal before his player option for 2022-23, now is the best time for the Wizards to trade Beal while his value is extremely high and for interested teams to give Beal a full season to show that he should extend with them.
Beal should have a lot of agency in his next team since he could become a free agent in 2022. It should be noted that while Beal never became supermax eligible early, he becomes eligible to sign it in the 2022 offseason since he will have ten years of service on his belt. A trade would allow him to maximize his earnings since opting out in 2022 and re-sign with his new team to a five-year deal projected at $235 million. He would be limited to $174.3 million over four years if he signs with a new team via free agency.
Almost every team can use Beal but very few have the assets to get a deal done or a team good enough to call a contender after acquiring him. Here are the teams that fit both criteria.