With a week to go before the 2023 NBA draft, the forecast calls for heavy trading activity at the Barclays Center next Thursday night. From the Portland Trail Blazers making demands for the No. 3 pick to established veterans like Wizards all-star Bradley Beal entering the trade market, there are a variety of dynamics going over the draft right now landscape and the upcoming start of Free Agency.
Beal’s status in the franchise appeared to change when Washington hired Michael Winger as general manager of the Wizards in late May and team owner Ted Leonsis authorized the former Clippers general manager to reshape this Washingtons roster as Winger sees fit — albeit with the following includes: rebuild. Previously, Leonsis had instructed his Wizards leadership to keep Beal as long as Beal remained loyal to the Wizards – and by all accounts, Beal has long placed emphasis on helping a candidate in Washington take the lead rather than making a trade elsewhere apply – league sources tell Yahoo Sports , and build around one of the game’s top scorers. Washington’s allegiance to Beal was so strong that the Wizards never actually made any requests for Beal before the 2022 trade deadline, sources said, before Washington honored him for his allegiance with a five-year, $251 million contract in the opening sequence of Free Agency. This mega deal also includes a no-trade clause, the only player contract in the NBA to feature such a powerful clause, and a massive element in any potential blockbuster that would send Beal out of the nation’s capital this summer.
Beal has the right to veto any transaction, giving the three-time All-Star essentially his own target when presented with multiple options for the Wizards. But for all of Beal’s talent and how well his game should fit into any team’s existing offense, this contract will deter many suitors who would otherwise be interested in Beal’s services. Beal turns 30 at the end of this month and has already been struggling with durability issues in recent seasons. But the no-trade clause and Beal’s contract with four years and more than $200 million remaining remain difficult pills for most teams under the NBA’s forthcoming new contract agreement.
Trading Bradley Beal will not be easy. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
The trade ban doesn’t just go away when Beal moves. It will prevent any team that acquires Beal from moving him as well — in any scenario where the trade doesn’t necessarily yield dividends for him — and any savvy front office considers how easily it can mitigate a potential bug before it carrying out such a costly transaction. Star trades don’t always produce results. This league can be unforgiving. James Harden was a Brooklyn Net for 13 months. The Lakers would have had an even harder time moving Russell Westbrook, Beal’s old teammate at the Wizards, if Westbrook had had his own no-trade clause, and Westbrook’s $47 million salary was challenging enough to be considered an expiring contract to be manoeuvrable.
Miami has always been the franchise most frequently cited as a Beal contender by league officials. The Heat are constantly preparing to attack the next available star, whether it’s Donovan Mitchell last summer or reaching out to Brooklyn about Kyrie Irving ahead of the February trade deadline, sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports. There have also been rumors of Milwaukee’s interest in Beal, as The Athletic first reported, but that would almost certainly have to include All-Star guard Khris Middleton’s return to Washington, and Milwaukee reportedly have plans to bring back both Middleton and Brook Lopez.
From there, finding other potential spots for Beal could result in teams looking to give up their own long-term contracts having the capital to both offload that salary and bring Beal on board. To be clear, there are no signs from league staff yet that New York will seriously pursue Beal. But if the Knicks could ditch Julius Randle and Evan Fournier, for example, and a package of first-round picks, that might be Washington’s best route to the top draft pay offer.
A Wizards return for Beal won’t happen in a vacuum. Washington could also consider another trade advantage in any Beal talks with center Kristaps Porzingis. The 7-foot-3 center is considering exercising his $36 million player option for the 2023-24 season, sources said. And the actual introduction of another All-Star into the trade market could potentially impact the Wizards’ efforts to generate a significant return on investment for Beal.
Wishful executives will keep their eyes peeled for Portland and Damian Lillard, but it’s the Chicago Bulls who have begun reaching out to teams and quietly assessing trade interest in Zach LaVine, league sources told Yahoo Sports. It remains to be seen how willing Chicago is to part ways with LaVine, or if it will receive an equivalent offer for its services. LaVine has four seasons left on his five-year, $215 million contract, and several teams have indicated that the Bulls have a high rating for LaVine — one that’s likely above what Washington can ultimately score for Beal.
Don’t expect Boston to jump into the Beal trade talks. Sources say the Celtics want to continue with their All-NBA tandem Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, despite Beal’s immense talent and his close relationship with Tatum, a friendship that dates back to childhood in St. Louis. The Philadelphia 76ers, often touted just behind Boston as a potential Beal contender, are also unlikely to target Beal, league sources told Yahoo Sports, regardless of whether Harden decides to remain in the franchise.
Philadelphia has made it clear that the Sixers are focused on signing Harden, who has until June 29 to decline a $35 million player option for next year. Much like last summer, it appears Philadelphia would prefer to sign Harden to a shorter-term contract that still gives the 10-time All-Star a lucrative salary but doesn’t put the Sixers in the potential predicament Washington currently has Faces with Beal’s long-term salary. The Sixers will have several avenues to move forward if Harden should leave, most notably by considering trades for Tobias Harris, who is entering the final season of his five-year, $180 million contract. But Philadelphia is unlikely to target Fred VanVleet should Harden depart via free agency, sources say, despite the apparent link to new Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, who won a championship with VanVleet in Toronto in 2019. A minor trade element to this Observer for Philadelphia: The Sixers are actively looking for opportunities to earn a second-round pick in next Thursday’s draft, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Harden’s other possible outcome as a free agent is still a return to the Rockets, although it’s difficult to draw a straight line through all the projections on Houston’s offseason plans. Across the Rockets’ long list of summer goals, there’s one common denominator: spend money, attract talent, and compete for the postseason under owner Tilman Fertitta’s guidelines. Rumor has it that free-agent targets like Lopez, Dillon Brooks and a long list of wingers would seem to be a good fit alongside Harden. And yet, if the 34-year-old were to return to the franchise in which he was MVP, it would be after the Rockets were drafted No. 4, where Houston is said to be targeting a point guard that leads many rival teams predict that the Rockets select Overtime Elite playmaker Amen Thompson.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the Rockets have also attempted to bring in G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson to Houston for a pre-draft visit, but have so far been unsuccessful. The move to Henderson would also seem counterintuitive to any plans to net Harden. Any lead guard type drafted by the Rockets would surely lose chances on the ball with Harden present. However, Houston doesn’t seem to have the experienced talent that would tempt Portland to slip from the third position should Henderson fall behind there, and it remains to be seen if Charlotte, who holds the No. 2 spot, would go through with a legitimate offer from Houston , as the Hornets also reportedly harbor playoff hopes for the 2023-24 season.
The Hornets are attempting to bring both Henderson and Brandon Miller back to Charlotte on Monday to visit team owner Michael Jordan, league sources told Yahoo Sports. All indications are that the Hornets are choosing between Henderson and the Alabama swingman, despite signing Amen and Ausar Thompson last week.
Charlotte could well switch choices, but the Hornets appear to be deep in internal deliberations between Henderson and Miller. There was a lot of excitement around New Orleans and Toronto, as well as Houston expressing interest in getting on the draft list. The Pelicans are actually quite fond of Henderson, sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports. He has the explosiveness and athletic physique of a true franchise-level offensive engine, with Henderson standing six feet and six feet tall in shoes during his visits to Portland and Charlotte. New Orleans has all of the future draft capital if these two teams valued this commodity. But that’s just not the current reality.
Despite all the incoming calls the Pelicans are getting about Trey Murphy going back as far as the February trading close, sources say he’s not quite the headliner that would draw the attention of Charlotte or Portland. So that leaves Brandon Ingram or Zion Williamson in this thought experiment. New Orleans staff are always philosophical about no player being “untouchable,” but the Pelicans had shown little interest in parting ways with Ingram at the time, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Given Williamson’s health history, New Orleans had to be pragmatic about alternatives for the Pelicans’ long-term roster building, especially in the face of harsher tax penalties in the league’s new CBA. However, New Orleans still fondly recalls first-place finishes in the Western Conference when that roster was fully available last season. It sounds like picking #2 or #3 in this draft is merely a starting point to meet New Orleans’ rating of Williamson, despising all the possible downsides of a five-year, $194 million contract .
Further down the draft board, rival teams continue to mention the Pacers’ interest in matching picks #26, 29, and 32 to advance to the first round or land additional talent. Indiana also holds the No. 7 where the Pacers, long in search of a starting power forward, are widely believed to value Houston forward Jarace Walker or UCF forward Taylor Hendricks at that spot. Indiana was exploring trade scenarios for OG Anunoby and the concept of sending Chris Duarte plus draft funds for De’Andre Hunter to Atlanta during the February trade deadline, sources told Yahoo Sports. The Pacers are expected to be a team in the mix for restricted free agent Grant Williams as well.
According to sources, the Jazz are another team scrambling to move up the draft. Utah holds picks #9, 16 and 28 and has contacted the teams regarding various trading scenarios involving these three picks.
Sources say the Mavericks are considering opportunities to be relegated from 10th place to midway through the first round to take on a veteran rotation player to back up Luka Doncic and future free agent Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks and Hawks, for example, discussed the idea of trading Dāvis Bertāns and the No. 15 pick for John Collins and the No. 10 pick, sources said, although those talks appear to have made no progress at this point.