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Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal and the path to his extension

By Troy Foster

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal has a max extension coming, but when?

Bradley Beal added zeros to his future paycheck this post-season taking over at the helm of the Washington Wizard’s offense. He is already one of the best shooting guards in the league, and his ascension to the top seems to be a matter of time, rather than a matter of talent.

Wizards coach Randy Whitman surprised everyone this post-season by playing a space-and-pace offensive that Beal was thriving in. Now with the season over for the Wizards, they need to decide who to throw money at to lock down.

Beal has two more years left on his contract making him eligible for an extension. This seems like a no-brainer for the Wizards organization, but unfortunately the situation is murky on both sides.

When looking at what kind of money he is going to command, Klay Thompson is a good place to start. He signed at the beginning of this season with a max extension from his rookie contract for $70 million over four years. The max will increase by the summer of 2016 so we have to expect that Bradley Beal will be receiving more than this.

Outside of Klay Thompson, another player in the league that recently went through the same scenario was Kawhi Leonard. The NBA Finals MVP was in negotiations last summer with the Spurs for an extension, but decided to hold out to force the Spurs to match max offers from other teams.

The Spurs though don’t mind this. They have a few players that they could get off the books by that time, affording them the money and financial flexibility to give Kawhi the max.

No one can be sure exactly how the Wizards though will take the rejection of the offer this summer.

Ken Berger of CBSsports.com had this to say about the Wizards options.

"If the Wizards don’t do the extension this summer, Beal would have two options: Become a restricted free agent next summer (assuming the Wizards extend a qualifying offer, which of course they will), or sign his $7.5 million qualifying offer and become unrestricted in 2017. Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld and Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, have yet to initiate extension talks, but they will soon."

All signs point to Bradley Beal remaining a Wizard, but the path to that result isn’t as simple as previously thought. He will also gain opportunities next season to increase his value, and solidify himself as possibly the cornerstone, next to John Wall, of the Wizards franchise.

H/T CBS Sports

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