Bradley Beal Confused By Report He Was Declining Wizards $36.4M Contract Option

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal is expected to decline his $36.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season and enter unrestricted free agency this summer, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Beal appeared confused by the report, posting on Twitter:

There were rumblings for several years about Beal's future with the Wizards, but those were quieted for a bit in October 2019 when he signed a two-year, $72 million extension with the organization.

That deal ensured he would play the entire 2019-20 season in Washington, since NBA rules prohibit his contract from being traded for six months.

Taking over as the face of Wizards basketball with John Wall out of action because of injuries, Beal continued his evolution into an elite scorer and superstar talent. He averaged a career-high 30.5 points and 6.1 assists per game in 2019-20

Washington left no doubt it wanted to build around Beal by trading Wall to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook in December 2020. The move didn't lead to improvements on the court, thanks in part to a defense that ranked 19th in rating and last in points allowed per game during the 2020-21 season.

The Wizards' 34-38 record earned them a spot in the play-in tournament, and they wound up securing the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they lost in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers. The team parted ways with head coach Scott Brooks after five seasons. Longtime Denver Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr. was hired as a replacement.

Westbrook was then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that brought back Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell to Washington.

That additional depth had the Wizards playing better overall than last season, but they were still fighting to stay in the playoff mix. In the end, their 35-47 record ranked 12th in the Eastern Conference standings and outside of the playoffs.

Beal saw his scoring average drop to 23.2 points, its lowest point since 2017-18, in 2021-22 with more talent around him.

Nothing from Beal's overall body of work suggests he should have problems being an efficient scorer, however, especially at this stage of his career. He is a dynamic offensive talent who has become a solid facilitator.

Beal will immediately become one of the most accomplished players on the free-agent market and should attract ample interest from contenders. He's the type of player who could push a team on the fringe into championship contention.

At 28, there would be some risk involved with a lucrative long-term contract since he'll likely be well behind his prime by the time the deal concludes, but there's always a trade off when it comes to signing a high-end free agent with the immediate future as the focus.

Washington could still be involved in the process as part of a possible sign-and-trade agreement in order to help a team facilitate the deal, which would at least help the team recoup some value while losing a longtime cornerstone.