Wizards Notes: Beal, Bertans, McRae, Jamison

Bradley Beal still has a shot at a super-max contract, but the Wizards‘ lack of success on the court may stand in his way, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Beal can make himself eligible for the deal, which would pay about $254MM over five years, by making an All-NBA team. He fell just short last season despite averaging 25.6 PPG, and Washington’s 32-50 record may have hurt his cause.

The Wizards will likely be even worse this year after launching a youth movement.  Tomas Satoransky, Trevor Ariza, Jeff Green, Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker are all gone from last season’s team, and more minutes will go to Troy Brown Jr. and rookie Rui Hachimura. Hughes notes that Westgate Sportsbook has set Washington’s over-under on wins at 28.5. It has been 15 years since a player has made an All-NBA team while winning fewer than 29 games.

There’s more news from Washington:

  • Davis Bertans, who was acquired in a trade with the Spurs, will probably start at power forward until Hachimura proves he’s ready, predicts Fred Katz of The Athletic. Hachimura could still win the job with an outstanding performance in camp, but Katz sees Bertans as the safer choice. He doesn’t believe they’ll be in the starting lineup together, even if C.J. Miles isn’t able to play at the start of the season.
  • Jordan McRae received additional guaranteed money by staying on the roster through 5:00pm Eastern time yesterday, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. McRae’s guarantee on his $1,645,357 contract doubled from $200K to $400K. He will get another $200K if he makes the opening-night roster. McRae appeared in 27 games as a two-way player last season and will be fighting for a roster spot in training camp, as the Wizards have just 13 fully guaranteed contracts.
  • Antawn Jamison tells Candace Buckner of The Washington Post he’s enjoying his new role as director of pro personnel. Jamison decided to leave television behind when new GM Tommy Sheppard offered him the job. “This is … my calling as far as after basketball and being in the front office and being a piece of the puzzle in trying to put the right pieces together,” Jamison said. “This is going to be fun. I love being able to come back to D.C. and being around people I respect and people who respect me. Out of all the things that have happened after basketball, this might be the smoothest transition.”
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