Deal for Beal tops pre-season to-do list
WASHINGTON—On Monday, the Washington Wizards host their annual media day ahead of training camp.
The clear-cut goal of camp, and 2019-20 season, will be the development of young players. Still, there are plenty of unknowns surrounding the team. Here are three questions that need to be answered during camp and pre-season.
Bradley Beal has yet to accept the extension. Should the Wizards be concerned?
On Oct. 21, NBA teams must set rosters before the season starts. This deadline date holds even more significance in Washington since it is the last day twotime all-star Bradley Beal can accept the three-year, approximately $111-million U.S. extension offered by the Wizards. The team extended the contract in July and since then, Beal has spent time inside the Wizards’ facility, embraced leadership in the wake of John Wall’s injury absence that could last the entire season and impressed coaches with his everexpanding game. Still, he has not agreed to the deal that would attach him to the Wizards through his prime. Despite this silence, the Wizards, at least publicly, see no reason to be anxious.
“There’s nothing at stake today. I mean, there’s going to come a time, certainly, and I’ll make a call if I haven’t heard anything,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said during an hour-long interview on Sept. 24.
“But I don’t anticipate that being a problem. I don’t anticipate any drama being attached to it ... A lot of this stuff is more public than it has to be.”
By dedicating the season to development, will rookie Rui Hachimura start?
The Wizards haven’t always trusted rookies to play heavy minutes, let alone start. Even during the team’s last rebuilding phrase, with four consecutive lottery selections from 2010-13, only Wall started more than half of the regular-season games (Beal played 46 games as a starter during his first year). Unlike Beal and Otto Porter Jr. — injuries and rehabilitation derailed their rookie year development — Hachimura should enter his first year healthy and, to an extent, integrated with his teammates.
He might have ended his run in the FIBA World Cup early to recover ahead of the regular season, but he has stayed on the court for those games with his teammates for long stretches. The Wizards simply don’t want to hand over minutes to young players, however the team appears to be ready to break from tradition and allow Hachimura to develop with a greater role.
Who’s the backup point guard?
Isaiah Thomas, the replacement starter for Wall, will miss the pre-season while recovering from surgery on his left thumb. His injury and early absence opens the door for a younger guard, who might not have previously been in the immediate plans, to bump up in the rotation. Then again, this injury magnifies the Wizards’ depth problems even before the team plays its first pre-season game.
Behind Thomas, 30-year-old Ish Smith should start at point guard. That leaves rookie Justin Robinson and Chris Chiozza, who has returned to Washington on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, which means if he is cut then he could still sign with the Capital City GoGo and make up to $50,000 if he remains in the G League for at least 60 days. The Wizards could get creative and plug in a bigger guard in the backcourt, especially since Beal has shown an improvement with his ballhandling. Still, Thomas’s injury reveals the team’s need for more proven playmakers.