Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal is the most tradable piece for the Wizards

It’s no secret that the Washington Wizards are in disarray. But, who is the most realistic person to trade first if need be?

The Washington Wizards have made some serious headlines this past week. Most of it due to their abysmal start to the season with a record of 2-8.

It seems as though everyone has voiced their opinion on the matter, but the most common area everyone can agree on is breaking up the roster. With that comes the question of; Who to trade first?

Most would assume that it would be John Wall. However he’s the most non-tradable piece on the entire roster. Trust me, I would love for him to be the first one shipped off because we could get some decent pieces, but his contract is absolutely insane.

Wall signed an extension worth $207 million dollars that takes him through the 2023 season. This added $170 million to his existing 5-year deal.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. Wall has a 15% trade kicker in his contract. Zach Lowe of ESPN.com broke down the numbers.

“A Wall deal before July 1 is unlikely in part due to complexities surrounding his 15 percent trade kicker — believed to be the first trade kicker that would be spread over the length of a supermax contract. Trade kickers cannot lift a player’s salary above his maximum in the year he is traded, meaning Wall’s payout could shrink if the Wizards trade him in 2019-20 once he shifts onto his supermax deal — and perhaps close to $0 in that 2019-20 season, sources say.

If they trade him before then, they might owe him a giant lump sum, sources say. (Wall’s 2018-19 salary of $19.2 million is well below his eligible maximum because he signed his current deal under a lower salary-cap figure.)”

I don’t think teams right now are that desperate to have to deal with this mess of a contract. On top of this, Wall hasn’t been performing that well. He’s averaging his lowest assist total at 7.6 and is having one of his highest turnover rates at 4 per game.

So, for the time being Wall is staying put in Washington. Which means that the team will still have to focus on building around him.

Bradley Beal is clearly the most reasonable asset to move. He’s only 25 years old and his contract is only $130 million dollars. He signed this back in 2016, so he’s currently in the third year of his deal.

The 6’5″ sharpshooter, is more valuable to trade than Wall. He’s got more of an all-around game and can hit the big shots when needed. He’s the perfect piece for other teams to build around or bolster their current rosters.

He demonstrated last year, when Wall was out with a knee injury, that he’s able to carry a team. Beal has the potential to be a leader, but has been overshadowed by Wall. Last year, he was selected to his first All-Start game and has only continued to show that he’s getting better each day.

It would be tough to see Beal go, but the Wizards would be able to get the most return on their investment from him. The team most likely would be able to acquire multiple assets, which could include draft picks, younger talent, or possibly an All-Star caliber player.

If the Wizards didn’t want to get rid of Beal, which I don’t blame them, Otto Porter Jr. would be the next man up. However, I don’t think the team would get much back for him at this point with the way he’s been playing, but teams might focus on the fact that he’s a young 3-and-D type player.

To sum up, if Washington feels the need to start rebuilding then the most logical, reasonable choice would be to start with Beal. It wouldn’t be difficult to find a suitable partner since he is the most attractive player on the Wizards and his contract is reasonable.

Hopefully, the Wizards can get the ball rolling and take care of business against the Orlando Magic so that it doesn’t have to come to any of this. It would be disheartening to see D.C. go through another rebuilding process.