In the freshly competitive Eastern Conference of the NBA there are teams like the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons & Indiana Pacers playing at an elite status every night trying to prove why the Boston Celtics shouldn’t be the only team expected to make it out of the East In The 2019 NBA Playoffs. However, with 15 teams in each conference and only 8 contending seeds available, there are at least 7 teams in each conference that will be watching the Playoffs from home. One of those teams is currently the Washington Wizards (25-37 #11 in the East). With Superstar John Wall missing the remainder of this season and next season due to a torn Achilles Tendon, the success of the Wizards will now be on the shoulders of breakout Superstar Bradley Beal. Beal has a few challenges standing between himself and the NBA Finals: Salary Cap, Expiring Contracts & Front Office Hijinks. Due to the Wizards giving John Wall the “SuperMax” Contract, as well as Bradley Beal & others singing huge contacts, the Wizards can’t afford to sign any of the blockbuster Free Agents this summer. Most teams in this position would trade away assets to make space for Superstars, but even after trading Kelly Oubre Jr., Markieff Morris, Austin Rivers & Otto Porter Jr, the Wizards still don’t have enough space to sign any major Free Agents. The Los Angeles Lakers need a Star like Bradley Beal, But Magic Johnson would most likely have to trade their young core (Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball & Kyle Kuzma) with a few Draft Picks for Team Owner Ernie Grunfield to even consider losing his Franchise Player. According to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Bradley Beal hates “Super Teams” and he wants to stay & recruit players to play in the Nation’s Capital Washington DC. In my opinion, unless a third team gets involved this summer, the Wizards will have an extremely hard time landing a Free Agent for the future of the Franchise. However, If the Wizards Front Office can convince Bradley Beal to get traded to the Lakers, not only will that relieve the Wizards of a large contract, but it could also help them rebuild what has been a declining Franchise maligned by injuries and bad contracts.
