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The Trade: Gary Harris, Michael Porter Jr., Keita Bates-Diop and a 2021 first-round pick for Bradley Beal
“I hate change,” Bradley Beal wrote of the possibility of leaving the Washington Wizards for The Undefeated. “If it happens, it happens. But if I can control it, I will finish in D.C.”
The Wizards appear to feel the same way about Beal, the 27-year-old guard averaging 30.5 points per game in 2019-20.
But as long as John Wall’s contract is on the booksand there are three years and approximately $133 million left on that behemothWashington may find it difficult to build a title contender around Beal.
And by the time the deal is done, and Beal is 30, he may be on the back end of his prime.
That Washington wants to hang on to its star makes sense. Players like Beal don’t come along often. But if the front office takes a hard look at the future, it might start to get curious about what kind of return Beal would net.
The Denver Nuggets are one team that might be able to make a trade worth the Wizards’ while.
Gary Harris is a solid shooting guard, but his contract is clearly the salary-matching piece here. Adding Michael Porter Jr. to Rui Hachimura would give Washington one of the game’s most intriguing, young combo-forward duos.
MPJ is fourth in this rookie class in box plus/minus, third in points per 75 possessions (19.8) and first in rebounds per 75 possessions (11.0). Among rookies with at least 100 three-point attempts, he’s first in three-point percentage (42.2) and second in true shooting percentage (58.9).
None of that means Porter will eventually be a 30-point-per-game scorer, but he has superstar potential. That, picks and intriguing young talent are what rebuilding teams should be looking for.
Keita Bates-Diop may check that last box. He’s barely played 1,000 NBA minutes, and at 24, he’s pushing the limits on “young.” But Bates-Diop is another player with multi-positional defensive potential, and he averaged 1.9 threes during his senior season at Ohio State.
If all that’s not enough, and Washington wants to drive a harder bargain, Denver could probably justify throwing in a 2023 first-round pick.
The Nuggets are much closer to contention than the Wizards. And the idea of Beal working off Nikola Jokic’s playmaking would be terrifying for opposing defenses. Jokic, Beal and Jamal Murray would comprise one of the league’s most explosive offensive trios.
