Washington Wizards (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia 76ers are trying to trade for the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal. Here is how a deal for the All-Star can be made.
Rumors are swirling that the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in trading for Washington Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal. The Wizards have rebuffed the Sixers offers thus far but what would a potential deal look like?
The Wizards have Bradley Beal under contract for two more seasons before a player option which means there is no rush to move him and they should wait for a monster offer if they plan on moving him. The Sixers don’t have much in the way of tradable assets and are deep into the luxury tax meaning they cannot take on additional salary.
For a deal to be allowed per NBA rules the Sixers would have to send back roughly $28 million in salary to Wizards to match Bradley Beal’s incoming salary. Another complication is that the Sixers have not indicated a willingness to part with either Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid as part of a trade for Beal.
New Sixers’ general manager Daryl Morey made his name with the Houston Rockets as a wheeling and dealing general manager that was aggressive about making trades for star players. However, if the Sixers want to hold onto both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons they will find it hard to satisfy the Wizards’ asking price for Beal. Here’s how a trade between the two sides could work.
Washington Wizards</a> All-Star <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bealbr01.html" ref="nofollow">Bradley Beal</a>. The <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"https://twitter.com/VinceGoodwill/status/1329099395502116869?s=20%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wizards have rebuffed the Sixers offers</a> thus far but what would a potential deal look like?</p>
<p>The Wizards have Bradley Beal under contract for two more seasons before a player option which means there is no rush to move him and they should wait for a monster offer if they plan on moving him. The Sixers don’t have much in the way of tradable assets and are deep into the luxury tax meaning they cannot take on additional salary.</p>
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<p>For a deal to be allowed per NBA rules the Sixers would have to send back roughly $28 million in salary to Wizards to match Bradley Beal’s incoming salary. Another complication is that the Sixers have not indicated a willingness to part with either Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid as part of a trade for Beal.</p>
<p>New Sixers’ general manager Daryl Morey made his name with the Houston Rockets as a wheeling and dealing general manager that was aggressive about making trades for star players. However, if the Sixers want to hold onto both <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/embiijo01.html" ref="nofollow">Joel Embiid</a> and <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/simmobe01.html" ref="nofollow">Ben Simmons</a> they will find it hard to satisfy the Wizards’ asking price for Beal. Here’s how a trade between the two sides could work.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The easy way </a>
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<img class="wp-image-409921 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1199760868.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1199760868.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1199760868-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Washington Wizards (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Washington Wizards trade the easy way</h2>
<p>If the Philadelphia 76ers want Bradley Beal they can have him if they include one of Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid. Both Simmons and Embiid are scheduled to make $29.5 million next season, which lines up very nicely with Bradley Beal’s $28.7 million salary.</p>
<p>The question for the Sixers is which one would they want to part with? For years fans, executives, and the media have questioned whether or not Embiid and Simmons games’ can co-exist on a championship-caliber team.</p>
<p>The question is fair because Simmons is one of the most jump shot adverse players in the league and Embiid is the NBA’s preeminent low-post scorer. In the modern NBA, it’s hard to build an effective offense around two players who need to be in the spot to be at their best on offense.</p>
<p>The flip-side is that the two form the nucleus for an absolutely stifling defense that sees Embiid patrol the paint and Simmons hound guards and wings on the perimeter. Bradley Beal’s ability to score at all three levels of the court would make him a perfect fit with either Embiid or Simmons.</p>
<p>If the Sixers cave and dangle one of Embiid or Simmons the Wizards should jump at the opportunity. Beal is older than the two and always seems to be in the rumor mill. The Wizards would be wise to grab either of the two players to help bolster the league’s most porous defense.</p>
<p>This trade would easy and done in all of five minutes if offered, which indicates that the Sixers have made it clear to the Wizards that they have no intention of parting with either of the two. This means that the Sixers and Wizards are taking the hard way to make a deal.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The hard way </a>
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<img class="wp-image-415495 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1203560079.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1203560079.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1203560079-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Washington Wizards (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Washingon Wizards trading the hard way</h2>
<p>With both Simmons and Embiid off the table, a deal for Bradley Beal becomes much more difficult for a multitude of reasons. The first is relatively mundane but a critical consideration for both parties.</p>
<p>As stated before the Sixers are above the luxury tax threshold which makes taking on any more salary incredibly difficult. The Sixers would need to send the Wizards close to $28 million in salary for the trade to be approved by the league office.</p>
<p>The Wizards could theoretically take on more than $28 million but that would mean the Sixers would have to offer even more assets for the Wizards to be so kind to take on additional salary. While the financial aspect is the biggest hold-up, the talent that Philadelphia has to offer is also uninspiring.</p>
<p>Tobias Harris could find himself as the odd man out in Philadelphia due to his large salary but would the Wizards even want him? Tobias Harris is not a bad player but he is owed $148 million over the next four seasons.</p>
<p>Harris’s contract is one of the least desirable in the league, which is a shame for a player who is coming off a season where he averaged 19.6 points per game. If the Wizards were to take on such an albatross of a contract the Sixers would have to add a ton of sweeteners to have any chance at a deal.</p>
<p>The Sixers made five selections in the 2020 draft and own most of their upcoming first-round picks. To get Beal they’ll likely have to depart with at least three first-round picks, multiple pick swaps, and a treasure trove of second-round picks. Even with all of those picks, the Wizards may not believe that is enough to depart with Beal.</p>
<p>A core of Bradley Beal, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons, due to their age and ability, is not going to be picking in the lottery anytime soon. The Wizards would be getting saddled with another bad contract in Tobias Harris and would have a steady stream of picks in the 20s just to give up their best player.</p>
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<img class="wp-image-403021 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/11/19/washington-wizards-bradley-beal-trade-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1211787998.jpeg" alt="Washington Wizards" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1211787998.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1211787998-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Washington Wizards (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>The verdict</h2>
<p>If the Philadelphia 76ers want Bradley Beal then they’ll have to depart with one of Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons. The alternatives are not only difficult to organize but are underwhelming returns for one of the league’s most coveted trade targets.</p>
<p>The Wizards can make the playoffs with Beal and should only move him if they are blown away by a team’s offer. Stockpiling first-round picks get the fans excited for the future but when the chances of them landing in the lottery are basically nonexistent their value is relatively low.</p>
<p>Tobias Harris is a good NBA player on a bad contract. If the Sixers want to move him they’ll likely have to give up picks to do so. Peddling him as the centerpiece in a Bradley Beal deal is an insulting gesture.</p>
<p>The Sixers can easily get Bradley Beal if they offer the Wizards a real return for an All-NBA caliber player. If they want to hold on to their only valuable assets then the Wizards will hold on to theirs.</p>
<p>There is an easy way for the Sixers to get Bradley Beal and there is a hard way. The Wizards are in no rush to move Beal and chances are the Sixers will soon turn their attention to Zach LaVine.</p>
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