Bradley Beal could be on his way out of Washington. According to multiple reports, Beal and the Wizards are in constant communication as the franchise tries to figure out its next step, and if that involves going into a rebuild, it appears Beal could be suiting up for a new team for the first time next season.
Beal is maybe the hardest guy to figure out in the league from a trade perspective. What is the value of a guy on such a gigantic contract, one that gets more expensive over each of the next three seasons before a player option in 2026-27 worth $57.1 million? While Beal is a three-time All-Star, he’s coming off of two straight years where the raw production just hasn’t quite been there, and he’s only played in 90 of a potential 162 games. (It’s worth mentioning that, last season, his field goal percentage of 50.6 percent was the best of his career.)
And then there’s the no-trade clause. The holder of the only true no-trade clause in the league — one that will follow him wherever he goes next — Beal has the ability to reject any trade Washington gets. This doesn’t just mean that he’ll be able to pick his destination, because he has the ability to say, hypothetically, that he doesn’t like the return, as well. It’s worth mentioning that this works both ways, because he can say the Wizards aren’t getting enough just as easily as he can say his new team is giving up too much.
With all that said, let’s dive into a few potential trades that could lead to Beal heading elsewhere. The first two, which we’ll dive into a little deeper, are from the teams that have been most closely linked to him, while everything after is exploring a pure hypothetical.
Milwaukee Bucks: Jrue Holiday, MarJon Beauchamp, 2029 first-round pick
For financial purposes, a deal between Milwaukee and Washington for Beal would almost certainly have to include Holiday, unless the two teams decide to do something weird with a Khris Middleton sign-and-trade that doesn’t make a ton of sense for either side. It should be noted that was what Marc Stein reported would be how the deal would get done, but it’s hard to imagine why Washington would want a soon-to-be 32-year-old Middleton if they’re trying to reset the roster, and it’s hard to imagine why Milwaukee would want to move someone with his two-way value on the wing (unless they are concerned about his long-term health). Holiday, meanwhile, is under contract for this season and has a player option for 2024-25, and if the Wizards were to bring him on board, he’d make sense as a guy who can be flipped elsewhere for picks and/or players that help Washington rebuild.
Would that be a hard pill to swallow for the Bucks? Of course, as Holiday has been excellent for them on and off the court. But on the heels of a premature postseason exit, turning Holiday into Beal would be an interesting way to shake things up and add some more self-creation to an offense that could use it. This would also be a way for them to avoid having to hammer out a new deal with Holiday, while giving them a player who is going to stick around for the foreseeable future.
To sweeten the pot, Milwaukee can throw in its 2029 first-round pick, which is the only pick they can move without any restrictions due to the trade with the New Orleans Pelicans that landed them Holiday. Beauchamp isn’t the sort of young building block who makes or breaks a deal, but he’d give the Wizards a young wing that they can work to develop as they enter would could be a few lean years.
Miami Heat: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, 2023 first-round pick
You can swap Herro for Kyle Lowry if you’d like, but in the aftermath of a run to the NBA Finals that saw Herro get hurt very early in the playoffs, it would be pretty easy for Miami to justify moving on from him in order to bring in an All-Star caliber player whose skillset would greatly help on offense. There is the question of whether Washington would rather have Lowry’s deal, which expires after the 2023-24 season, over Herro and a guy like Robinson — the former is signed through 2026-27 and makes the most money of all three Heat players mentioned here, the latter has a player option in 2025-26.
Having said that, with Beal moving on in this situation and both Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma capable of hitting unrestricted free agency this summer, Herro at least gives the Wizards a sure thing as they figure out what this next chapter looks like. Can he continue to build on a nice 2022-23 season, where he averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game with a career-best effective field goal percentage of 53.1 percent? Can Robinson, who found his jumper in a big way during the playoffs after really struggling from deep during the regular season, get back to being one of the NBA’s premier sharpshooters from deep? If the answer to both is yes, this would be a really nice deal for Washington.
And then there’s the pick, as Miami’s struggles during the regular season mean they’re the rare NBA Finals team that has a pick inside the top-20 — the Heat are currently slated to pick 18th next week. Unless Washington wants to bet on teams being terrible down the road, it’s probably not getting a pick that high in the near future, and with the talent in this year’s draft, that can easily turn into a useful player. The Heat could try to sweeten this pot with a future pick, too, as Miami has its firsts in 2027, 2028, and 2029.
Portland Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, a first-round pick
Simons and Nurkic make the money work, and would give Washington a pair of reliable NBA players. The draft capital is the big thing here — it would make sense for Washington to ask for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, which, no. Would the No. 23 pick in this draft be something that Portland puts on the table? Would it work better with a pick down the road, with the Blazers having their 2026-29 picks available? (Their 2025 pick can’t be moved without violating the Stepien Rule.) Would Portland even be interested in having a second guard on the wrong side of 30 on a monster deal that hampers its ability to build a team, especially if its own rebuild is potentially on the table?
New York Knicks: Julius Randle, Evan Fournier, a variety of draft pick options
If Washington wants to bring in some veterans who could help them right away while simultaneously getting stuff back for down the road, a deal like this makes sense. New York’s war chest of draft capital is rivaled by few others in the league and can give up a ton of stuff for Beal, even if it’s fair to wonder if he’s the guy for whom it’s worth cashing in some of those picks. But a backcourt of Beal and Jalen Brunson would be a whole lot of fun, so maybe it’s worth kicking the tires.
Dallas Mavericks: Davis Bertans, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jaden Hardy, 2027 first-round pick
Consider Beal insurance against Kyrie Irving deciding he wants to play basketball elsewhere and a way to show Luka Doncic that they’re willing to get him a new running mate. Dallas should probably stop doing the thing where it moves every single long-term asset it has, as Hardy is a promising youngster and that 2027 first-round pick could be quite valuable (perhaps they could include it and add a lottery protection or something). Having said that, a Doncic-Beal pairing could be fun. Is it a thing the Mavs seriously want to pursue? Probably not, but then again, Dallas loves making a splash even if it doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Golden State Warriors: Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Patrick Baldwin
It’s the Warriors and an All-Star is available, so we’ll list them even though a trade would suddenly make paying Draymond Green and Klay Thompson even more expensive than it already is. Would they really want to get older and make team building under this new Collective Bargaining Agreement even tougher? Who knows! Everything’s about maximizing the odds they win more while Steph Curry is on the team, and maybe they determine this helps.
Boston Celtics: Malcolm Brogdon, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, Luke Kornet, Justin Champagnie, Sam Hauser, 2025 first-round pick
Philadelphia 76ers: Tobias Harris, Furkan Korkmaz, 2029 first-round pick
Both of these teams have priorities other than pursuing Beal, and both have reportedly not shown any interest in getting into the Beal sweepstakes. Boston needs to figure out Jaylen Brown’s future and trading him for Beal would be a legitimately shocking move (and plenty of people would consider that a downgrade), and Philadelphia clearly wants to bring James Harden back. So while they’re fun spots to imagine for a Beal deal, we can almost certainly count them out for now.
Phoenix Suns: Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, any amount of draft capital they can cobble together
Los Angeles Clippers: Eric Gordon, Robert Covington, Terance Mann, Milwaukee’s 2023 first-round pick (No. 30)
Two teams under insane amounts of pressure to do something next season, and while neither has been publicly linked with a Beal deal, there’s stuff they can throw together to make it work financially — of those two options, the Los Angeles one is clearly more appealing than the Phoenix one, although the Suns could swap Paul with Deandre Ayton and make a deal happen if they decide to give up on the concept of having centers altogether. It’s hard to see Beal wanting to go to either team, where he’d be the No. 3 option more often than not, but crazier things have happened, I suppose.
