The easy part is over.
The Washington Wizards signed 23-year-old shooting guard Bradley Beal to a five-year, $128 million deal according to multiple reports. Beal and the Wizards were expected to rapidly reach an agreement once the NBA free agency period began on Friday. The deal was agreed to by lunch.
A new contract cannot be signed until the league-wide moratorium on signings and trades is lifted July 7, but parties are allowed to reach a verbal agreement before then.
Beal was a restricted free agent who said at the end of the season he expected to be back with the team. The Wizards never wavered in their comments about retaining Beal.
“I think Bradley knows he is a big part of our future,” Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said recently.
Re-signing Beal is the first step in what will be a busy Wizards offseason. The team was shunned by top free agent Kevin Durant after years of targeting this summer as the time to woo and acquire him. Another interesting option for them, Charlotte’s Nicolas Batum, agreed to re-sign with the Hornets on Friday. So, he’s out, too.
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Washington has enough cap space to sign another player to a maximum contract and fill out the remaining roster, but spending all of its money may become difficult as the quality of available players dwindles. The Wizards have nine roster spots to fill, though they are truly after only four impact players to join the rotation with the six players currently on the roster.
Beal is part of the Wizards’ baseline as they move forward during the next four seasons with a core group of Beal, John Wall, Kelly Oubre Jr., Otto Porter (for at least two seasons), Markieff Morris, Marcin Gortat and new coach Scott Brooks. The team is anticipating Beal’s recurring leg problems will be behind him or at least controlled and his flat, but solid, offensive production will increase.
Last season, Beal played a career-low 55 games because of multiple injuries. He again had the beginning of a stress reaction in his lower right leg, a problem that has flared during each of his first four seasons in the league. He’s averaged just 62 games per season.
There are other issues to consider, too. Beal has shot 42.6 percent from the field since entering the league. He has a strong 3-point percentage of 39.7, but inside the arc is not among the league’s efficient or elite scorers. Last season, he worked to shoot fewer long two-pointers, one of the least effective shots in basketball and one that Beal did not make at a high rate. That decision helped him to a career-high field-goal percentage of 44.9, good for 10th in the league at his position.
Beal also rarely gets to the free-throw line, though he was there enough for a career-high 3.2 attempts last season which put him in the middle of the pack among league shooting guards. His offensive rating — 102, 103, 102, 103 — has also been flat during his four seasons.
Where Beal has stepped forward is in the postseason. He averaged 23.4 points (though shot just 40.5 percent) in the 2015 playoffs. His offensive aggressiveness spiked, sending Beal to the free-throw line almost six times per game.
SEE ALSO: Kevin Durant likely not coming to Washington, so Wizards try to figure out what’s next
The Wizards believe — and the numbers indicate — there could be much more from Beal. The organization just made him its highest-paid player to show it.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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