Would the Washington Wizards be willing to trade Bradley Beal to dump John Wall? This is the question posited throughout much of this offseason in D.C., but it hasn’t come to fruition just yet.
Beal hasn’t signed a new contract with the Wizards, but there is little doubt that they will offer him an extension in the future. Whether Beal wants to stay in Washington long-term is another thing altogether. Wall still has to come back from his injury, and even then it’s not clear whether he would be a top player when he does.
The problem is that even if Beal signs a contract to stay in Washington, he would do it knowing he would always be saddled with whatever becomes of Wall.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat have been in rumors surrounding both Wall and Beal all summer long. Pat Riley has tried to rebuild his team starting with star power by signing Jimmy Butler. It has been thought that the Heat will want to add another player here soon, and both Wall and Beal have been mentioned alongside guys like Chris Paul.
So, would the Heat take on Wall if it meant getting Beal? According to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, Miami thinks they can rehab Wall enough to make things work between him, Beal, and Butler.
Via Miami Herald:
What about the other scenario, with the Heat taking on both Wall and Beal with the understanding that Miami wouldn’t need to give up nearly as much quality in return?
As we reported in early July, that scenario has been seriously discussed inside the Heat and there’s sentiment to do that, because of how much the Heat loves Beal and because of the internal belief that Miami can get Wall back to All-Star level following his ruptured Achilles, which is expected to sideline him this upcoming season.
But the Wizards have shown no inclination to package Beal with Wall in an attempt to purge the final four years and $171 million of Wall’s contract.
This is all to say nothing of the fact that Washington doesn’t seem inclined to use Beal to get off of Wall. The star point guard’s massive contract is an albatross, one that will be hard to trade save for a deal like the one that Oklahoma City found with the Houston Rockets in exchanging Russell Westbrook and Paul.
The Heat have a desire to be a good team and quickly — at least that’s the rumor — and them wanting to grab Beal away from the Wizards makes sense. If they have the “internal belief” they can make Wall a useful player once again, more power to them I guess.
Washington doesn’t want to budge for the time being, and that makes sense, too. Often NBA teams Chase good money after bad, and utilizing Beal as a trade piece to offload Wall would be doing exactly that (especially if Beal wants to re-sign in D.C.)
For now, Butler is just hanging out in South Beach but I feel like he won’t be there alone for long.
