Wizards: Beal recruited stars at All-Star Weekend
As the clear leader on the team for the next two seasons, Bradley Beal is trying to get another star on the Washington Wizards.
Days after saying he wants to be a Washington Wizards lifer, Bradley Beal said he spent All-Star Weekend trying to bolster the team’s roster and get another All-Star caliber player to join him in the nation’s capital.
“The recruiting process is really going alright. It’s going alright. I’m trying,” Beal said, according to NBC Sports Washington’s Chase Hughes. “This is new for me. I’m definitely getting some ears and seeing what guys are looking for.”
With a considerable amount of cap room and with John Wall out through next season, if the Wizards want to remain competitive in the playoff race, getting someone to partner with Beal makes sense. Trading away Otto Porter to the Chicago Bulls for the expiring contracts of Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis gave the team the opportunity to at least get in the discussion with some higher quality free agents.
Plus, when Wall does return, a third star will raise the team’s ceiling even higher.
It’s unclear who Beal may have tried to recruit to D.C., but a couple viable upcoming free agents that could fit positionally with the Wizards are Milwaukee Bucks wing Khris Middleton and Orlando Magic big man Nikola Vucevic. Both players will likely have several suitors, including their current teams, but Washington could be an attractive option.
But perhaps Beal was a little more imaginative and tried to plant some seeds for the future in case a younger star tires of his current team and is looking for a change of scenery down the line. At first glance, say the situation fails to improve with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Karl-Anthony Towns wants out? Maybe the prospect of playing with Beal and a healthy Wall intrigues Towns.
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That said, recruiting top-tier free agents to Washington has often been an unsuccessful endeavor for the Wizards, but Beal’s efforts to do so are an encouraging indication of his dedication to the team’s future.