The Wizards get high marks for rostering Bradley Beal, who’s the rare (relatively) cheap All-Star.
Still only 25 years old, he continues to elevate his ceiling through expansion as a scorer, distributor and shot-creator. Moved to the driver’s chair by John Wall’s season-ending injury, Beal has come to be one of just seven players averaging at least 25 points, five assists and five rebounds.
But the inventory of Washington starts as soon as you get past Beal tumbling.
The worry is Wall. Injuries had previously been a issue, but he has never gone through something similar to this. He had heel operation in January, subsequently ruptured his Achilles tendon at home in February. Adding insult to injury, he hasn’t even started his four-year, $170 million extension, which leads to next year.
Outside the backcourt, just Ian Mahinmi and Troy Brown Jr. have guaranteed contracts for 2019-20, while Dwight Howard retains a 5.6 million player option. The deadline deal that sent Otto Porter Jr. to the Chicago Bulls enhanced the team’s financial outlook, but it is possible some of those savings will get pumped into keeping veterans Trevor Ariza and Jeff Green, a source told NBC Sports’ Ben Standig.
Read more: profootballfanzone.com