The Bradley Beal trade
Grade: B+
The biggest domino to fall in Washington this offseason was Bradley Beal. His gargantuan contract, combined with his sub-All-Star performance in the last two seasons made Beal a difficult contract to move. His age wasn’t a good fit for the Wizards’ rebuilding timeline either.
So, Washington rightfully decided it was time to move on from him. And, considering the circumstances and Beal’s right to veto any trade, the Wizards got a nice haul for Beal.
The details of the trade were as follows:
The Wizards sent Bradley Beal, Jordan Goodwin, and Isaiah Todd to the Phoenix Suns, and acquired Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, a 2024 first-round pick swap, a 2024 second-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2026 first-round pick swap, a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick, 2028 first-round pick swap, 2028 second-round pick, 2030 first-round pick swap, 2030 second-round pick.
That is in total four first-round pick swaps and six second-round picks. Perhaps the first-round picks from Phoenix in the next few seasons may not be super valuable as the Suns are likely going to have a worse draft pick than Washington. However, there is a significant upside in the 2028 and 2030 first-round picks from Phoenix. Considering the ages of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, Phoenix may be in a rebuilding mood by then, picking in the first half of the draft.
Maybe the Wizards didn’t add extra first-round picks in this trade, but they likely improved their draft pick in multiple draft classes. And that is very valuable, just like the six second-round picks. It is of utmost importance to any rebuilding team to fill their asset cabinets, and the Wizards did just that with this trade.
Chris Paul later proved to be movable as well, as Washington got even more assets for him, making this deal look even more favorable.
It would have been nice to hold on to Jordan Goodwin as he could have been another internal development project for the Wizards, but he’s not a crucial part of the deal.
This grade could have been higher if Washington could have landed at least one young prospect in the deal but the pick return alone makes this trade worthwhile for the Wizards.