On Friday Oct. 1, the Washington Wizards offered Bradley Beal a four-year, $181.5 million contract extension, as team general manager Tommy Sheppard said would happen. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington confirmed the offer.
Every team in the NBA will be watching how Beal handles this. Even if he wants to remain with the Wizards, he may choose to play out this season, become a free agent, then re-sign with the team for five years, $235 million. He has remained loyal to the Wizards throughout his career, signing previous extensions to stay, and has not asked for a trade. There are no reports or talk he plans to now. Still, teams are “monitoring the situation.”
Beal himself said at media day he plans to take it slow, via Ava Wallace at the Washington Post.
This sounds like a man who wants to see how this season starts to play out before deciding.
The Wizards retooled their roster around Beal in the Russell Westbrook trade, bringing in a lot more depth and balance that should lead to an improved team. But is that enough to keep Beal happy?
Whatever decision the proudly-unvaccinated Beal will make — sign the extension, sign a shorter version of the extension with an early opt-out in a year or two, not sign it and opt-out to test free agency (he could do that and still re-sign with Washington) — the Wizards will want an idea of his plans by mid-season. If Beal is going to leave the Wizards, they want time to find a trade at the deadline (they would not get near equal value back, but they could get something of quality).
On Monday, the Wizards will put the ball in Beal’s court.
While a lot of teams are watching, Beal is going to take his time before making his play.