The Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal might finally be headed for a breakup. Beal has shown tremendous loyalty to the franchise even when he seemingly shouldn’t have, and the Wizards rewarded him with a massive contract extension last summer. Now, it seems that the shooting guard wants to play out the prime of his career somewhere else.
Just In: The Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal will work together to find a trade for the three-time All-Star if the team elects to reset the roster in the near future, league sources tell me and @JoshuaBRobbins.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 14, 2023
Beal has a no-trade clause and his cap number has ballooned to the point where he’s making north of $50 million in two of the next three seasons. He holds a $57 million player option for the 2026-27 season as well.
The Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers loom as possible destinations for Beal should he renounce his no-trade clause and look to make a move. The Heat have long been rumored as a landing spot for the guard and his fit would be excellent next to Jimmy Butler. The Mavericks would be thrilled to pair Beal with Luka Doncic to form a potent backcourt with a bit less usage overlap. The Blazers are looking to find players who can immediately help Damian Lillard, and Beal would be the right type of player.
All these scenarios would only exist if the Wizards decide to rebuild. They do have the most flexibility to do that this summer with Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma holding player options. They could either become free agents or expiring contracts the Wizards would deal. Washington would also have the expiring contracts of Monte Morris and Delon Wright to deal. We’ll see if the Wizards decide to make a move and include Beal in the exports, or if they stay the course.