Bradley Beal is in Japan at the moment as part of a promotional tour for the NBA. However, despite being across the world, many eyes are still on the young Wizards guard. He’s set to become a restricted free agent, and the 22-year-old has some thoughts on how much money he expects in his next deal.
Simply put, Beal’s looking for a max contract:
“I feel like I’m a max player and that’s what I’m looking for,” said Beal, adding, “If Washington can’t meet that requirement then I may be thinking elsewhere. I’m pretty sure that they probably won’t [let me go]. At the end of the day, that’s where I want to be. I think a deal will probably get done but you just never know.”
The Wizards have the inside track on signing Beal, as he is a restricted free agent, so they can match any deal another team might make. Additionally, they can offer Beal a five-year deal, while everybody else can only do four years. Thanks to having Beal’s Bird rights, they can go over the salary cap to sign him, too. However, there have been many murmurs the Wizards are hoping to sign local boy Kevin Durant, and there’s no telling whether he gets a max if Durant is locked up. On top of that, Beal has had issues with injuries throughout his short NBA career.
On that last point, Beal had this to say:
“The injury thing, that’s behind me. I’m moving forward. I’m past it. I’m focused on my career from here on out.”
He also cited Steph Curry’s early injury issues as a reason to believe in him.
Comparing himself to Curry and gunning for a max deal. Clearly Bradley Beal believes in himself. Whether another team believes as much will be answered this summer.
(Via Washington Post)
