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2019 NBA Free Agency: Bradley Beal will be open to signing three-year, $111 million extension

According to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post, the Wizards guard may sign the deal.

By Albert Lee
2019 NBA Awards Presented By Kia On TNT - Inside
Bradley Beal holds his shiny new Community Assist trophy. Maybe it also lays the foundation for a new extension.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Turner Sports

Bradley Beal is just getting used to being the NBA’s Community Assist Award Winner. But he may also find himself with a bit more cash for his family in the future.

According to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post, the Wizards guard is “open” to signing an extension in D.C. Last week, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN wrote that the Wizards wanted to offer up to a three-year, $111 million extension that would start in the 2021-22 season.

Though Beal could sign this extension now, he would be preventing himself from getting a supermax extension that could pay him much more — assuming he makes the All-NBA Team in the 2019-20 season. But Beal may also want to test the unrestricted free agency waters.

I know we are all excited about Rui Hachimura coming to Washington. But the Wizards are not contending for anything in the next three years besides the number one pick in the following draft. And to me, that’s OK as long as the youth get their time to shine withe some veteran talent to complement them.

Keeping Beal goes against that. The Wizards would be compelled to build around Beal for the short term if they re-sign him. Unless Hachimura is a legitimate superstar, they probably won’t go further than an early playoff exit.

The Wizards won’t be able to add any significant salaries until at least 2020-21 when Ian Mahinmi’s contract comes off the books. But they will also be in a significant bind until at least 2023-24 when John Wall’s current supermax is finished. For Beal, he should be interested in signing an extension if he feels that’s right for his family.

But for the Wizards, I’m not sure if this is the right move, even if Beal is a great player on the court and a better man off of it. But maybe I’m just too set in my “blow it up” approach to team building.