Free Bradley Beal

 

The Washington Wizards are 3-12 and have the worst record in the NBA. There star player in Bradley Beal leads the league in scoring at 35 points a game and has the 6^th best Player efficiency Rating (PER) in the NBA. With such great talent it has led many people to wanting to see the Wizard trade Bradley Beal. Beal signed a 2-year contract extension back in 2019 which extended his deal until at least until the summer of 2022 due to his player option after the 2021-2022 season. With this unique season the playoffs are not out of reach of the Wizards despite their terrible record. With a play in tournament schedule to occur between the 7 to 10 seeds of each conference to determine final 2 spots for the playoffs; It means it is a race to 10^th. Currently the Wizards are just 3 games back of the Chicago Bulls who currently hold the 10^th spot. It will be interesting to see how the Wizards choose to move forward this year.

I do believe the Wizards will make a move as they are giving up the most points in the NBA at 122 points per game. The question is do they trade Russell Westbrook or Beal to help jump start the rebuilding of the team. Many teams would be interested in Beal if he is made available including the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks.  Beal will help any contender and if the in right position he can help make that team title contenders. I can’t wait to see to see what happens between now and the trade deadline on March 25^th.

Harden Lands in Brooklyn

 

James Ha rden was finally traded on Wednesday from the Houston Rockets in 4 team trade between the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Indiana Pacers. The trade saw Harden and a 2nd round pick go to Brooklyn with Houston getting 4 first round picks and 4 unprotected pick swaps, in addition to several players including Pacer star Victor Oladipo. The Nets saw key role players in Caris LeVert go the Pacers; also they sent  Jarret Allen, and Taurean Princeto the Cavaliers. With the trade being made official on Friday the question now becomes can the Brooklyn Nets with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden win a championship this year and ultimately within the next 3 years.

The biggest thing that these 3-star players have to realize is that sacrifices have to be made in order to accomplish their ultimate goal of winning a championship. Harden and Durant played with each other earlier in their careers with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but Harden has become a more accomplished player since that time 8 years ago. I believe Harden can adjust his game to involve Irving and Durant due to the fact he has led the league in assist in addition to scoring as well within the last 3 years. The ultimate wild card will be Irving as he has a very unpredictable personality and has shown that he cannot be trusted to be locked in mentally when the Nets need him. I see the Nets vying as a representative of the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals this season.

 

My prediction is for the first season they will fall short of reaching the NBA Finals. This has to do with it likely being growing pains playing together for the 3 Nets superstars. Also, I expect teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks to be able to dominant on the inside with the lack of  defense especially on the  inside that Brooklyn has, now that Jarret Allen is now in Cleveland. Lastly, Harden and Irving love to dribble to get into their offensive rhythm which can be problematic when you have 2 of these players starting on the same team. In the end the Nets will go to the finals at least twice in the next 3 years, but this year will not be one of them. Many have asked if this will be a success or failure? If you are measuring by the number of rings then I’ll say a failure because I see maybe 1 championship at the most. I can’t wait to find out. 

Trouble in DC

 

The Washington Wizards came into the season with hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They have acquired former MVP Russell Westbrook to pair him with star Shooting Guard Bradley Beal. This  pairing seems to be working but not getting the results expected from many coming into this season. Watching the Wizards play Westbrook knows the Wizards are Beal’s team and allows him to lead while averaging a triple double. One of the biggest issues is that the Wizards lack a consistent 3^rd scorer and are terrible on defense.

 

The Wizards are currently 2-7 this season after losing to the Boston Celtics on Friday night. This includes two straight in which Beal scored 60 and 41 points. The Wizards are currently ranked 28^th in defense rating. In addition, the Wizards opponents shoot about 40% from the 3-point line. The combination of a negative defensive rating and giving up the 2^nd highest 3-point percentage in the NBA is a recipe for disaster. It comes as no surprise that with these two red flags that the Wizards give up the most points per game at 122 points. If the Wizards want to turn this season around to maybe fight for a potential 8^th seed in playoffs, they must sure up that defense especially from 3. In today’s NBA the 3- point shot is a very crucial part of the game.

 

I believe the Wizards will continue to struggle as Westbrook tries to play through a dislocated finger. Also, Davis Bertans their big-time free agent acquisition must shoot closer to the 40% form 3-point range like he did last season. My prediction is that the Wizards will some how piece it together and come down the stretch of the season they will sneak into the playoffs as an 8^th seed.