The 2018-19 season has not started smoothly for the Washington Wizards, winning just five games out of their first 16 and this lack of success is forcing changes to be made. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Wizards franchise has made every single player on their roster available for discussion in trade scenarios. It may seem odd that a franchise would so suddenly want to trade their two centrepieces who have facilitated the success of the team over the past few years, but due to poor performances from their team and roster as a whole, it is something the nation's capital believes is the right thing to do.
The Wizards’ franchise knows that they hold little trade value in their underperforming role players, so have no choice but to offer up their top stars to gain interest.
With the Los Angeles Lakers owning some of the best young talents in the league, it won’t be surprising if teams call up Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka discussing a trade possibility. And one team that will likely be on the phone in the coming days and weeks will be the Washington Wizards.
Wall and Beal up for sale
John Wall and Bradley Beal have been widely regarded as one of the best backcourts in the league over the past few seasons, and have done some great things with their Wizards team but their time is coming to an end. The poor start has frustrated coaching staff and management at the Washington Wizards organisation, and they are already having regrets with giving Kelly Oubre Jr and Otto Porter Jr large contracts.
Surprisingly, Porter is earning more money on his contract with the Wizards than Bradley Beal is, and this probably makes Beal the most valuable trade asset for other teams. One particular team that could benefit from this would be the Los Angeles Lakers. But they would need to give up some young talent to do it.
Beal to the Lakers?
With John Wall owning a huge contract and the Wizards lacking any other big pieces, the most appropriate player for the Lakers to target in a trade would be Bradley Beal. Brandon Ingram is a young player that the Lakers would avoid placing in trade talks, however other players including Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart or Kyle Kuzma might be talked about when involving a player of Bradley Beal’s level.
The likelihood is, that if the Lakers do decide to trade for Bradley Beal, they’ll try to avoid losing any of their future all-star calibre players. Instead, they’ll probably look for a trade involving Kentavious Caldwell Pope, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and maybe even Josh Hart.
The Wizards will be looking to get back into playoff contention with a fresh roster if they do decide to get rid off their superstar and role players.
