Bradley Beal's contract situation is simple, but it could complicate things for the Wizards
This summer, the Washington Wizards can offer shooting guard Bradley Beal his first contract extension. They'd have his next few years of service locked in at a reasonable price for an up-and-coming young player, and John Wall's backcourt running mate wouldn't be a question mark.
But with all of that said, is it actually smarter for the Wizards to wait until Beal's current deal runs out before they offer him his next deal? The Washington Post's Jorge Castillo broke down Beal's contract situation, which is deceptively simple:
"Beal is not eligible for the five-year extension John Wall received two summers ago because teams are only allowed to ink one player to such an extension before the conclusion of their rookie contract," Castillo writes. "Washington chose to allocate the 'Designated Player' extension to Wall and he received a five-year max contract worth $80 million that kicked in this past season.
"... A max extension [for Beal] would garner a yearly salary that starts at about 25 percent of the salary cap in 2016-17, which is projected to jump to $89 million from $67.1 million thanks to the league’s new television contract, followed by yearly raises of 7.5 percent. It would make Beal the highest-paid player on the Wizards. If a deal is not reached this summer, the Wizards could re-sign Beal to a five-year contract next offseason and match any offers other teams make."
Easy enough, right? So the Wizards should just go ahead and sign Beal and move on to their next set of free agents when they get the chance, yes?
Well, not exactly. There's an alternate route that Washington can take that will essentially land them in the same place with Beal while offering increased wiggle room in the all-important summer of 2016, when a former MVP will be a free agent. As Castillo explains:
"Having Beal wait until restricted agency next summer would also help the Wizards; Beal would count significantly less against the cap next offseason, which would give them more money to sign other free agents under the cap. Washington could then exceed the cap to match any offer from another team and re-sign Beal after using the additional funds on other player(s). And even if Beal signs an offer sheet with another club to force the Wizards to re-sign him before they could make other moves, they’d be where they were had they extended him this summer."
As long as the Wizards make it clear to Beal that they see him as part of their future, there's really no wrong answer here. But as the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Chandler Parsons showed this offseason, there are no guarantees when a player hits restricted free agency. Letting Beal play out his contract is a calculated risk, but it's one that seems to make sense for the Wizards.
(h/t Washington Post)
Photo Credit: Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports
