As we all know, this year's NBA trading deadline is coming, the time is getting closer and closer, the rumors are more and more, just in the past two days, a number of well-known journalists have reported on the wizards and Bill's related news, we summarize it slightly:
1. HoopsHype reporter Michael Scotto reports that in order to keep Bill, the Wizards want to seek a trade for big-name players before the trade deadline, including Sabonis Jr. and Grant
2. Bleacher Report reporter Jake Fischer reports that Sabonis Jr. is the target of the Wizards, and Bill has a high opinion of Sabonis Jr., but Bill is not actively encouraging the Wizards to get Little Sabonis
3, The Athletic reporter David Aldridge reported that the Wizards are not seriously considering trading Bill at the moment, but there is no consensus on what Bill wants
4) Beal prefers to stay with the Wizards, but he has not directly refused to discuss going to other teams to play
5) Beal will soon be a free agent, so even if the Wizards choose to trade Beal now, they will not get anything in return
6. The Athletic reporters David Aldridge and Josh Robbins jointly reported that although Bill did not formally request a trade, he did not object to being traded
7. The Wizards are expected to seek a major promotion in the team's frontcourt around Beal, but Dinwiddie and Bertans will have a hard time trading
Bill was a target for the 76ers, but the 76ers were reluctant to trade Simmons plus Sable or Maxi for Bill
Simply put, the Wizards want to keep Beal, but they can't make big signings without the right chips; Beal also wants to stay, but they don't oppose the trade, and it's hard to get a valuable reward for trading Beale, because Beal is about to become a free agent.
To be honest, there is a lot less news about Beal this year, mainly for three reasons, one is the departure of Wei Shao, the attention originally brought by Wei Shao disappeared; the second is the decline of the Wizards' record, last year's Wizards were still a playoff team, and at the beginning of the season, they also rushed to the first place in the East, but now they only have 24 wins and 27 losses, ranking fifth from the bottom in the East.
Third, and most importantly, Bill slipped on his own.
So far, Beal has played in 40 games for the Wizards, averaging 23.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 3.4 turnovers per game, his scoring is the lowest in the past four years, and the assist career high, but the turnover is also tied for a new career high
As a comparison, The Beal of the past two seasons:
In the 2019-20 season, he averaged 30.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.4 turnovers per game
In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 31.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.1 turnovers per game
In the past two years, after Wall's injury absence, Beal gave people a bright feeling, his personal scoring ability reached its peak, averaging 30+ per game for two consecutive years, looking at the history of the NBA, since the 90s, only Jordan, Iverson, Kobe, Harden four people can do this, which are undoubtedly god-level figures.
After the departure of Westbrook this season, I thought that Beal would usher in a small outbreak again, and the name of Bill in the prediction of the offseason scoring king was also the first, and as a result, this year, his average score per game fell by 8 points compared with last year, and he could only rank 20th on the scoring list.
On the one hand, Beal's ball has been divided a lot, Dinwiddie, Kuzma, Harrell, Pop all need to score, And Beal's ball usage rate has dropped to 29.7%, 33.1% and 33.8% in the past two years, respectively.
On the other hand, Beal's offensive efficiency has decreased, and his shooting percentage is currently 45.1%, a new low since 2016, a three-point shooting rate of 30.0%, a career low, and a true shooting rate of 53.9%, which is not the league average, 57.9% and 59.3% in the past two years.
As the numbers have slipped, the question has also been raised about whether Beal's value is worth a big contract — according to the original report, Beal could sign a five-year, $242 million extension with the Wizards next summer, or sign a four-year, $179 million new contract with a new team.
If the Contract with the Wizards is renewed, Bill's salary for the next five years will reach:
2023-24 season, $42.6 million
2024-25 season, $44.9 million
2025-26 season, $48.2 million
2026-27 season, $51.5 million
2027-28 season, $54.8 million
Is it worth it? If this question had been put in the past two years, the answer may still be questionable, but in this year, it is obviously not worth it, after all, Beal has never proved himself to be a big boss who can lead the team forward, and simply because of loyalty, this contract is likely to lock the future of the Wizards.
One player in contrast to Beal is Lillard, who is also considered a loyal representative and has also been extended to a large contract by the Blazers, but before this year, Lillard has led the playoffs for many consecutive years, and has been selected for the All-Star and Best Team many times, the honor is much higher than Beal, and don't forget, after years of unable to lead the team to further breakthroughs, now even Lillard has fallen into trading rumors.
It is conceivable that if Bill really renews his contract, then what the future of the Wizards will be like, of course, before all the dust settles, Bill's future is unknown, leaving or staying, may not be known until this summer.