DALLAS SUMMER LEAGUE

UPSYDE SPORTS PRESENTS:

BEST LANDING SPOTS FOR BRADLEY BEAL:

He keeps claiming he wants to stay in Washington, but lets be real, he's on a sinking a ship. The Wizards are likely stuck on that Westbrook contract for at least another couple of years, so at least they can try to load up their team with young players and draft picks.

Here are some of the realistic offers I think they can get by the deadline:

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS:

Philly Receives: Bradley Beal, Isaac Bonga

Washington Receives: Mike Scott, Danny Green, Seth Curry, 2021 1st, 2021 2nd via NY, 2022 1st Swap, and 2023 1st

Philly is undefeated with their starting-5 healthy, so they may just hold the line at this point. Should they see themselves with an opportunity to consolidate talent and future assets, this could be an excellent option for them to go with. This trade would at the very least lock them in for this year and next year as probably the favorite in the East. Thybulle or Maxey would likely move to the starting line-up and they can probably still improve on the buy-out market in a couple of months.

Washington gets a large expiring contract in Danny Green, with Seth Curry a solid compliment to Westbrook in the backcourt. They get additional draft equity and will likely justify them to embrace the tank to get a top pick in the 2021 draft. Washington would still be a very bad team even with these draft picks, but it would sort of put them where Philly was a few years ago when they began "the process". Washington has a lot of promising young players in Bryant, Rui, Avdija and Brown locked down for the immediate future.

Overall, I give the chances of this trade a 10-15% chance of actually happening at best.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS:

Charlotte Receives: Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans

Washington Receives: Cody Zeller, PJ Washington, Devonte Graham, Terry Rozier, 2021 1st, 2022 1st Swap, 2023 1st, 2024 1st Swap

This trade would have to happen after February 20th, yet this does a lot of things for both teams. For Charlotte, it does the obvious, it cleans up the backcourt hierarchy, putting LaMelo into the starting lineup alongside Beal. It gives Malik Monk a final shot to prove his value and lets you give more playing time to Miles Bridges. Biyombo would likely finish the year as the starting center with maybe a buy-out center coming in - maybe they go after Pau Gasol - they probably will be worrying about those little details later. They managed without Zeller for a month, so they'll be fine.

Washington gets a major haul and helps fix their cap issues. Bertans was a bad contract and they might see this trade as an opportunity to move on. PJ Washington is a better option for his two-way ability, and they get two excellent options for the now and future of their backcourt. They could either elect to use the draft picks or consolidate them for other assets later, but this gives them options. Cody Zeller is a nice expiring contract and solves their problem of what to do without Thomas Bryant for the rest of the year. This trade actually makes the Wizards a potential play-in tournament team, yet that probably would not be one of their primary goals in this trade.

Overall, I give the chances of this trade a 15-20% chance of actually happening at best.

NEW YORK KNICKS:

New York Receives: Bradley Beal

Washington Receives: RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, 2021 1st, 2021 1st via Dallas, 2021 2nd via Charlotte, 2021 2nd via Detroit

New York has arguably the strongest trade package thus far on the list. In addition to getting an All-Star level and relatively young Julius Randle, the Wizards get an elite prospect in RJ Barrett and two possible lottery picks in a strong draft this summer. They get an additional two draft picks to help them either facilitate other trades or save cap space.

Despite being probably the best trade based on value, the fit might be questionable. The Wizards suddenly become really crowded at the 4, having signed Bertans to a 5 year contract, and drafting Rui and Avdija in consecutive drafts. Even if Avdija ends up staying at the 3, they have a log jam. Then you have RJ Barrett, who is not a prolific shooter. While he made gains in most statistical categories from his rookie campaign, he's only averaging 27% from beyond the arc. It's a pretty risky move to have a poor shooting guard when you have Westbrook as your main source of offense.

Overall, I give the chances of this trade a 5-10% chance of actually happening at best.

ORLANDO MAGIC:

Orlando Receives: Bradley Beal, Davis Bertans

Washington Receives: Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, 2021 1st, 2022 1st Swap, 2023 1st, 2024 1st Swap

This is essentially a similar frame work to the Charlotte trade, yet they may have to put even more draft picks than this to make the deal happen. The same ideas apply - future cap flexibility, future assets, unloading Bertans contract, etc.

The Wizards might not be as excited to do this trade unless they're high on trying to get a guy like Mo Bamba or Chuma Okeke. At this time, I don't see Orlando trading Vuce, Cole, or Isaac, even if they were getting somebody like Beal back.

This trade becomes somewhat viable because it does help them tank much easier, but the fit for the players involved seems somewhat suspect. The only one involved in this trade that might be interesting is Fournier, yet he's the only one on an expiring deal.

Overall, I give the chances of this trade <5% chance of actually happening at best.

DENVER NUGGETS:

Denver Receives: Bradley Beal

Washington Receives: Gary Harris, Bol Bol, RJ Hampton, 2021 1st, 2022 1st Swap, 2024 1st

This trade probably has the largest impact to the respective conference. Denver gets a major upgrade at the 2-guard, while keeping Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr, and Nikola Jokic. They take advantage of high-upside prospects that slide their drafts to keep some of their distantly future draft picks. Gary Harris has regressed quite a bit, but should still provide plenty of production and added defense.

Overall, this is a great trade for Washington. Bol Bol has shown flashes of excellence in last year's bubble, but has been pushed so far down the depth chart that he's gotten almost zero play time this season. RJ Hampton has not had much more playing time, but he's an interesting prospect for his two-way abilities.

While I'm not seeing a plethora of buzz that these two teams are looking to strike a deal, I wouldn't be surprised to see this team emerge as a potential trade partner.

Overall, I give the chances of this trade a 10-15% chance of actually happening at best.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS:

Golden State Receives: Bradley Beal

Washington Receives: Andrew Wiggins, 2021 1st via Minnesota, 2021 2nd via Minnesota, 2021 2nd via Toronto, 2022 1st Swap

Don't sleep on the Warriors to get Bradley Beal. They very well could pull this off. The Minnesota pick is likely to be a top 3-5 pick based on their current standings, Wiggins is currently averaging career bests in FG%, 3P% and blocks, and is still only 25. That being said, I hope I don't need to go into too much details about his laundry list of flaws. His contract is only a year longer than Beal's, so if you're going to lose, at least you can get an elite draft pick out of it.

For Golden State, there is not much to say. Beal is not an expiring contract, so this move not only allows the Warriors to remain very competitive, but could be a huge asset for them long-term as their future big-3 when Klay returns. Curry will have one more contract in him, so they can hopefully get another ring before they have to start paying Wiseman.

Overall, I give the chances of this trade a 25-30% chance of actually happening at best.

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES:

Memphis Receives: Bradley Beal

Washington Receives: Gourgi Dieng, Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane, 2021 1st, 2021 1st via Utah, 2022 1st Swap, 2024 1st via Golden State

I'll preface this with saying that Memphis is an extreme dark horse for this trade. Despite how good Ja Morant has been, I don't think this is the year for the Grizzlies to push in all their chips. Bradley Beal would immediately put them in the playoffs, but I'm not sure how far they would go. It's probably that the Wizards would also want one of their elite power forwards in Jaren Jackson Jr or Brandon Clarke in any trade involving Beal.

Should they accept this trade, this is more of a off-loading trading. Dieng is an expiring contract, Brooks is a solid value player on a team-friendly contract, and Desmond Bane is an intriguing 3-and-D wing. Additionally, the Wizards would get 2 first round picks in this upcoming draft, a swap, and another future pick during a draft where Curry is finishing his age-36 season.

Overall, I give the chances of this trade <5% chance of actually happening at best.

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS:

New Orleans Receives: Bradley Beal

Washington Receives: Nicolo Melli, JJ Redick, Lonzo Ball, 2021 1st via Lakers, 2021 1st Lottery Protected

This is mostly a framework, as the Pelicans have what seems like an infinite supply of draft picks. There are other routes they could go that include bringing the OKC connection via Steven Adams. Overall, this trade is about getting expiring contracts and Lonzo Ball. Ball is the main part of the trade and he's entering this trade with career highs in FG%, FT%, points, and career lows in turnovers. With the Pelicans being a much deeper team, he's been tasked to do less, and the rest of his numbers have suffered.

Lonzo is also entering restricted free agency, and the Pelicans traded for Bledsoe and drafted Kira Lewis Jr. The have also been using Nickeil Alexander-Walker as the main playmaker in certain rotations. Lonzo has a lot of overlapping skills to Westbrook, so this could be good, bad, or an experiment to see how they do until they can use their draft picks to move off of Westbrook.

The Pelicans have a similar timeline as the Grizzlies, so I don't realistically see them pulling the trigger on a star-level trade for at least another season. Zion has a long way to go and they may opt to try to improve via free agency rather than trade.

Overall, I give the chances of this trade 5-10% chance of actually happening at best.

- Adam Safianow - NBA Analyst - Upsyde Sports [Copyright 2021]