Bradley Beal
The Wizards backed themselves into a corner with Bradley Beal. Beal was signed to an exorbitant contract, annually averaging over $50 million through 2027. While Beal is an exceptionally talented player and scorer, that is a lot of money to give to one guy, especially when it doesn’t even give the team playoff hopes. The real kicker though, is that the contract has a no-trade clause. Meaning Beal cannot be traded unless he grants permission and waives the clause. In addition, if a trade does manage to go through, Beal gets a 15 percent trade bonus, making any deal all the more unlikely.
That contract was untradeable when it was signed and it only gets worse as it matures. This year was the first year of the deal and it was clear he wasn’t a top-15 guy. Beal is arguably in the latter half of his prime at almost thirty years old and hasn’t been consistently healthy over the last couple of years. His numbers haven’t been terrible, averaging 23.2 points and 5.4 assists per game this last year. But for someone earning as much as Beal is, scoring should be near 30, ideally.
In the NBA, no contract is untradeable, as seen with the Russell Westbrook trades, both coming and going from Washington. The only hope to move Beal would have to be a similar situation, a contender wanting to add a third star. However, the new collective bargaining agreement puts teams at a severe disadvantage once over a certain luxury tax threshold, and anyone willing to trade for Beal would most likely already have a hefty payroll. Again, no contract is untradeable, but this might be as bad as it gets.