The LA Clippers should kick the tires on a trade for Bradley Beal after news broke that the Washington Wizards would be willing to move the All-Star.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Washington Wizards may be waiving the white flag soon by moving one of their star players. The LA Clippers should at least kick the tires on a deal surrounding All-Star Bradley Beal.
Beal, who just turned turned 25 in June, is coming off his first season as an All-Star. Although the Wizards have not had much team success, Beal has been a solid two guard. In his 16 games this season, he is averaging 21.5 points on 45.5% shooting (33.9% from deep) along with 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks and 4.1 rebounds.
The Clippers have been involved in trade talks all year with the primary focus being on Jimmy Butler. Although they missed out on him, getting Beal may present a unique opportunity. Beal is signed through 2021 meaning the Clips could bring him in and have him for a few championship runs.
But how would the Clippers make this happen?
That is the tricky part. Beal will be a hot commodity and the Clippers don’t have a ton to offer. Depending on what direction the Wizards are looking to go, the best offer the Clips could throw at them would be some combination of Danilo Gallinari, Avery Bradley (who cannot be traded until January 15), Jerome Robinson and a pick.
The Clippers would also likely have to take someone back with Beal like Jason Smith.
While LA may not want to give up Jerome, they would have to consider this. Beal is an established star and could help the team bring in someone like Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant in the offseason.
All in all, this seems unlikely. Several teams will call and make offers on both Beal and John Wall. The Clippers are set up for free agency next summer and therefore have very few contracts actually on the books past this season.
Still, it doesn’t hurt to do their due diligence and make the call to D.C. Conveniently enough, the team will be in Washington on Tuesday night, so front office executives could actually sit down and talk face to face.