The Washington Wizards revamped their roster this offseason to get closer to contention and convince their superstar Bradley Beal to sign a new extension with the franchise. But it appears that they might have to wait a bit longer before finding out whether they did enough.
The Wizards can offer Beal, who is set to play 2021-22 on an expiring contract, a four-year, $181.5 million extension starting Friday. And the team will waste no time in doing so, according to general manager Tommy Shepard’s previous statements.
Beal, on the other hand, isn’t in a hurry to decide on his future and will take his time before giving the franchise his response.
“My biggest thing is getting us off going to a good start,” Beal said via the Washington Post when asked about the extension. “We worry about the contract money and all that later. I’ll let them [the Wizards and his agents] deal with it when the time comes, for sure. I got all year to sign, too. So I’m not in a rush.”
It’s worth pointing out that Beal reiterated several times that he likes playing in Washington and that he would like to be with the franchise for the long term. However, we’ve seen how NBA players can quickly change their minds, especially if they’re on a team that isn’t competitive.
Bradley Beal is coming off a career year that saw him pick up his third All-Star nod and first All-Team NBA selection. He narrowly missed on the scoring title by averaging 31.3 points per game while adding 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Beal also helped the Wizards make the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18.
