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The Washington Wizards' and Bradley Beal's whirlwind season has finally come to an end. That was despite Beal and Russell Westbrook doing their best to prolong their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. They were beaten 129-112 in game five on Wednesday night and ultimately lost the series 4-1. Although Beal scored 32 points and Westbrook 24, it wasn't enough to overcome the Sixers' depth, even without Joel Embiid.
There is now a hugely important offseason ahead for the franchise with several issues to be resolved, namely Bradley Beal's future. He currently has one year left on his contract until 2022 and can take the player option to extend that into the following season. However, there are also suggestions that the Wizards may offer him a contract extension before then.
In this article, we will examine three reasons why the Washington Wizards should go to every length to keep Beal and make sure he knows that he is part of their long-term plans.
Why Bradley Beal should be integral to the Washington Wizards' future
Bradley Beal has been with the Washington Wizards since he entered the league in 2012 as the franchise's third overall pick in the draft. He has been an All-Star on three occasions, including this year, and helped them reach the conference semifinals three times.
Beal signed a contract extension with the Washington Wizards back in 2019 worth $72m and he will go into next season earning $34m of that deal. With the Wizards looking to build on this year's success, they should do their best to keep the small forward for as long as possible.
#1 Bradley Beal is an elite scorer
Despite averaging an astonishing 31.3 points this season, Bradley Beal narrowly missed out on the scoring title to Steph Curry. The two were neck-and-neck for the entire season, however Curry's spree of threes in April helped push his average up above Beal's.
Beal is an extremely efficient scorer from both the field and from the line. During the Washington Wizards' campaign, he made a personal best 48.5% of efforts from the floor and shot at 88.9% from the free-throw line, a career-high. The only aspect of his scoring that could improve is his three-point accuracy, which was the lowest he had recorded at 34.9% during the season.
Nevertheless, Bradley Beal is a unique talent of whom there are few in the league. He and Curry were the only two players to average above 30 points during the year, while out of players who took over 20 field-goal efforts per game, he ranked second for accuracy.
The Washington Wizards currently have one of the greatest scorers in franchise history and possibly in the history of the league, still in his prime. Beal will soon turn 28 and therefore could have the best basketball years of his career ahead of him.
#2 He formed a great partnership with Russell Westbrook
The Washington Wizards traded John Wall for Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster deal in 2020. There were worries as to how he and Bradley Beal would work together. The latter was a close friend of Wall's and had played with him in Washington for five seasons and been successful.
Westbrook struggled at the start of the season with a quadriceps injury. That left Bradley Beal to fend for himself and keep the Washington Wizards afloat in the East. When he returned, the two formed a formidable partnership. Over the season, they were one of the most feared pairings and ranked 27th for points out of any 2-man lineup in the league, averaging 64.4 per game together.
The two stars' games compliment one another perfectly. Bradley Beal is a high-volume scorer who attracts the attention of the defense. Meanwhile, Westbrook is happy to do the team's dirty work, fighting for every loose ball and every rebound. He has become the chief facilitator and one of the best all-round players in the game. His play facilitates Beal's scoring and they are both winners by nature.
#3 Beal and Westbrook can attract other talent
Another reason the Wizards should keep Bradley Beal is not only because of his partnership with Westbrook, but also because of the pair's connections around the league. Whenever Beal talks, the franchise usually listens. He can have his say on trades and areas he believes the team needs to improve on.
After their 1st round exit on Wednesday night, Beal spoke about the team's recruitment over the summer and said his would start straight away,
“Hopefully, teams watch us and see what we’re capable of doing and see how we compete... Obviously, recruiting is tough. It’s ongoing, so I’m definitely looking forward to this summer. My recruiting will definitely start tonight or tomorrow.”
The problem for the Washington Wizards if they are pursuing keeping Beal is the fact they have no wiggle room in their cap space. Westbrook's salary is massive, over $44m, and they will pay out $112m in salary to six players next season. Their only option is to trade the likes of Davis Bertans and Thomas Bryant. Although that would likely bring in little, they desperately need improvements across the roster, particularly in the paint.
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