2:35pm: As expected, the Wizards have offered Beal an extension, reports Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
8:21am: All-Star guard Bradley Beal is now eligible to sign a contract extension with the Wizards that would tack on up to four years and $181.3MM to his current deal, starting in 2022/23, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Beal signed his last contract extension on October 17, 2019. Typically, a player has to wait at least two years to become eligible for another extension, but the two-year anniversary for extensions signed between October 2 and the start of the regular season is considered to be October 1.
According to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, general manager Tommy Sheppard said last month that the Wizards planned to offer Beal a max extension “at dawn” on October 1. While Sheppard may have been exaggerating a little for effect, it seems safe to assume an offer will be on the table for Beal very soon, if it’s not already.
Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein said this week that his client is “really excited about the team and the direction the team is going,” adding that “everything is pointing in the right direction,” according to Wallace. However, the 28-year-old doesn’t sound like he’s in a hurry to lock in a new long-term deal quite yet, telling reporters on Monday that he’ll let the team and Bartelstein figure out his contract while he focuses on what happens on the court.
“My biggest thing is getting us off going to a good start,” Beal said. “We worry about the contract money and all that later. I’ll let them deal with it when the time comes, for sure. I got all year to sign, too. So I’m not in a rush.”
Beal’s point is a good one — unlike a number of other players around the NBA who face an October 18 extension deadline, he’ll still be able to finalize a contract extension anytime during the 2021/22 league year.
It’s also worth noting that waiting until he can become a free agent in 2022 would be more advantageous for Beal from a financial perspective, even if he already knows he wants to be with the Wizards long-term. As a free agent, he’d be eligible to sign a five-year contract worth $241.6MM with Washington, or a four-year deal worth $179.1MM with another team. Those figures are based on a projected $119MM salary cap.
Beal’s decision to accept a two-year extension back in 2019 was a surprising one, so it’s possible he’ll surprise us again by how he handles his upcoming contract year. For now though, it sounds like he’s content to see how the new-look Wizards’ roster performs under new head coach Wes Unseld Jr. before he makes any major decisions about his future.
Unless it’s an extend and trade, I wouldn’t pay him. A player taking you to the 8th/9th seed is not worth $40M+ a season. Nobody hands out worse contracts than NBA owners. Ultimately I think most know they wont sniff a championship and just pay for some folks for the fans to come and be entertained rather than compete for championships. It’s a sound business strategy. Suckers love hope!
But if you don’t pay him and lose him then you’re back to being the last place wizards, who has to play the lottery to get another Beal, and angered your fan base by not resigning the star player thus costing you even more money.
@afsooner
The other side of the coin is, if you’re going to be the 8th seed then you might as well tear it down and try and be a higher lottery pick team. But again, they have to spend the money on someone. Should it be one true start or a bunch of overpaid one year deals for trade deadline pieces and collect other assets, or can both be done?
@Knicks
You actually hit the nail on the head. You keep the stars and then surround them with a bunch of overpaid 1 year deals until you find good talent. Keeping long term bums is the problem that most teams end up accomplishing
It’s up to BB. If he extends, Dinwiddie is worth his offer just for getting WAS that much.
@Casor
Beal alone can’t drag a bad team into the playoffs. His best teammates was Wall and Wall hadn’t been healthy in a while. Plus, this is the NBA. There’s a minimum salary floor each team must meet. So if you HAVE to spend the money on someone and you’re not a good FA destination thrn why not reward your best franchisee player that’s remained loyal to the team and hasn’t demanded to be traded?
It’s understandable why fans of less competitive teams, like Washington, become frustrated with their star players’ inability to produce championships. But then so many of those same fans get upset when these players team up with their fellow stars to chase rings with teams like the Heat, Warriors, Lakers, and Nets.
Like Houston…
@Green
In Beal’s defense he’s doing
his part. He’s played at a high level the last 3 years year when Wall was injured
@Knicks
Normally I’d pay him but they have a bunch of other bad contracts which prevents them from building around him. That’s why I suggest the sign and trade.
Sign him and them move him for assets. Loosing him for nothing is not a smart move. He holds alot of value for the franchise.
@sybase
Beal has expressed that he didn’t want to be traded. If he wanted to leave I’m sure he probably would alert them so they could accommodate him and get something in return.
Maybe Beal and his family just like the DC area and don’t want to uproot themselves? He’s an interesting guy. All his bros played college football. He’s childhood friends with Nelly. He used to babysit Jayson Tatum. He graduated from HS with a 4.0. Maybe chip chasing isn’t a priority for him?
No vaccination, no extension! Play hardball until this anti-vaxxer falls in lines, shuts up and gets the Fauci ouchie! Amirite ;)
Absolutely not
what’s this have to do with Beal and this article?
I liked your comment, but it missed its target, so far as I know.
Beals is just not a winner. He’s a great player, a nice guy, but not a #1 franchise type of player. He’s a Robin and he lives his current situation where he calls all the shots, treated as loyalty, and no pressure to win. He’s complacent with annual all star teams, stats, and of course max contract.
@Michol
I feel that’s an unfair read on Beal. True, he doesn’t seem interested in ring chasing. However, he does seem loyal to the team and might simply be happy there. I don’t know if I’d call that complacent. I know ppl that work boring 9 to 5 jobs and aren’t at all ambitious about trying something else. But they’re a lot more happier than others. As for the money, teams have to spend a certain amount of their revenue on players so who else better to get the most money but your best player? It’s not like Washington is an attractive destination to all-star caliber players.
You and I are both saying the same thing. He’s happy with the current situation, and that’s ok. It’s his personality, but he needs to own up when it comes to winning instead of franchise or teammates. There are so many gifted players who can put up outstanding stats , but only few can win Titles.
Beal will be traded. Washington needs to go full rebuild. They will get a haul for Beal now. He’ll be gone by trade deadline. It’s the smart move.
The best possible circumstance for the Wizards is to get a Max extension and hold onto him till he let’s you know its time down the road (which hopefully never happens and he plays a good 5+ more years for you)
I believe Bradley Beal is a Star
You don’t trade stars in this league unless they let you know they want out…especially if you are the Washington Wizards …..
There’s no reason why Bradley shouldn’t see where the first half takes them this year….. but around the All star game he and the Wizards are going to have to have an honest talk, I think they will, and if anything does happen, it will be on the 100% up and up by today’s NBA standards and Wiz don’t get left empty-handed .
I’ll be rooting for the Max extension with Washington tho from afar