It looks like Bradley Beal is getting paid this offseason. In an offseason where the Washington Wizards saw their pipe dream of landing hometown hero Kevin Durant crushed by not even getting a meeting, they still made some news by re-signing starting shooting guard Bradley Beal to a five-year max deal worth around $128 million. The deal was reported by multiple outlets including Yahoo Sports.
Beal looking for a rebound year
After signing this deal, the pressure will be on Beal to perform after dealing with some injury issues the past season. Beal has offered a great scoring option next to John Wall and he showed it in his four seasons in DC.
Last season Beal averaged around 17.4 points per game and shot around 45% from the field. He had a down year in terms of shooting from 3 as his percentage dropped from around 40% to 38% last year. But one positive thing for Beal is that his field goal percentage has gone up in each year he has played. One thing he could possibly improve on is if he could improve passing the ball or rebounding. But as of right now, Beal is a pure shooter.
In terms of salary cap, this almost certainly strikes out the pipe dream of getting Kevin Durant. This also may strike out the chances of possibly getting a guy like Nic Batum although the Wizards could possibly make the money work.
After missing the playoffs last season, the Wizards are certainly coming off a disappointing season and will look to do better next year. With a great backcourt of Beal and Wall, the future is bright for Washington. Still, they have some work to do. They need to rebuild their bench and need a solid power forward. Marcin Gortat is only for sure starter next year but by signing Beal, Washington locked down their shooting guard of the future for five more years.