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Could We See Bradley Beal In A Pelicans Uniform Together With Zion Williamson?

While Bradley Beal says he wants to stay with the Washington Wizards for a long time, he still remains to be a player teams will pursue a trade for. The Washington Wizards haven’t really been competitive ever since John Wall’s Achilles injury. Additionally, Wall’s return from injury doesn’t guarantee that the he will be the same player. The uncertain future of the team might drag Beal out of D.C.

Although everything is speculative at this point, many of today’s teams may gamble to go all in for Bradley Beal if he becomes available any time soon. Dan Favale of Bleacher Report thinks that the New Orleans Pelicans are one of the teams that could offer a high price for the Wizards star. 

“Plenty of people would be uncomfortable with New Orleans giving up this much,” Favale wrote. “The final tally for Washington amounts to Lonzo Ball, Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, three first-round picks and two seconds. This seems like a lot, because it is. But the Pelicans are facing certain constraints. Ball’s value to the Wizards is a question mark. He has once-in-a-blue-moon vision, and his jumper has improved. But he’s due for a pricey extension, and Washington already paid Wall. New Orleans might need to find a third-party facilitator who would pony up big-time value for Ball.”

The trade would make sense if it were to happen. The Wizards could start a rebuild with Rui Hachimura, and another three young players in Ball, Hayes and Alexander-Walker, as well as future draft picks. Whereas the Pelicans could form a big four and one of the top teams in the West with a dynamic offensive player in Bradley Beal paired with the other bright stars in Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram. The trade would be beneficial to Beal’s career as he wouldn’t be carrying a huge chunk of the offense and would also have a good supporting cast to rely on.

Beal is averaging a career-high 30.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on 45.5% shooting. The 26-year old guard is unquestionably having the best individual season of his career. Despite his amazing performances, he wasn’t named an All-Star, mainly because of the fact that he’s playing on a mediocre team.