The biggest news to drop in the NBA on Oct. 17 to start the day was the Wizards max extension to Bradley Beal, which has an impact on the Chicago Bulls.
The Washington Wizards really shook the NBA universe this week with the news that they extended star shooting guard Bradley Beal for four more years, worth a total of $130 million. Since the Chicago Bulls and the Wizards has such close ties on the trade market in the past eight months, there is a tangible impact here moving forward.
Last season at the trade deadline, the Bulls hauled underrated but slightly overpaid small forward Otto Porter Jr. away from the Wizards for a return of power forwards Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker. Neither Portis nor Parker are with the Wizards this season. Portis landed with the New York Knicks during the summer and Parker with the Atlanta Hawks.
The other piece the Bulls landed from the Wizards was 6-foot-7 combo guard Tomas Satoransky in a sign-and-trade deal that brought him to the Windy City on a three-year deal worth $30 million. It’s easy to say the Bulls fleeced the Wizards twice on those deals.
Yet, it seems like the plan for the Wizards all along was to try their best to re-sign Beal. And that’s exactly what they did just ahead of tip off of the 2019-20 regular season. The commitment for the Wizards could still be for the long haul with Beal and injured former star point guard John Wall. But Wall and Beal aren’t even to again be what they once were two years ago together.
Washington Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal has agreed to extend his deal for two years on a $72M maximum contract, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. Deal includes player option for 2022-23. Total value: 4-years, nearly $130M. Story: https://t.co/ViKhzu5dU9
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 17, 2019
It seemed hard if not impossible for the Wizards to move that super-max contract Wall has. A lot of those super-max contracts for aging point guards were hard to move and weren’t good signings in hindsight. But there was still the opportunity to move Beal for a king’s ransom in return.
This contract extension for Beal does take him off the trade market this season. That eliminates yet another big time trade target teams that needed a boost could’ve tried for. With the lack of quality free agents set for 2020, Beal could’ve commanded a very large price tag.
But this max contract for Beal carries an impact even beyond free agency next summer. This proves that a player can still remain loyal to a team like the Wizards as he’s entering his prime, even if he could do much better success-wise elsewhere. If the Wizards didn’t, then some other team would’ve signed Beal to a max contract.
Beal signing this extension could help a rising team like the Bulls change their perception and add more talent down the road in a weaker Eastern Conference. There’s also the point that Beal won’t be joining a better contender in the East this season, which could help out the Bulls playoff chances.
The last major impact here for the Bulls and the rest of the teams around the NBA is make that 2021-22 season that much more anticipated. Beal will be eligible for more than $250 million on his next deal come 2022. Since he’ll be nearing the age of 30, would anyone be willing to pay him that much money at that point given he’s still a star in this league?