It’s the only intriguing question
about the team: Will Bradley Beal
finish the season in Washington?
He CLOCKED A LEAGUE-HIGH
36.9 MINUTES PER GAME in 2018–19
while his backcourtmate, John Wall, played just
32 games due to multiple Achilles injuries. Despite
Beal’s best efforts—he set career highs in points,
rebounds and assists—the Wizards missed the
playoffs two years after a 49-win season.
Beal, 26, is both the Wizards’ only hope at
achieving respectability and their only means
to reap valuable assets for a rebuild. Rookie
GM Tommy Sheppard is in a tough spot. Wall
will likely miss all of this season, and his massive
contract (he’s owed $171 milion through 2023,
when he will be 33) limits the team’s flexibility.
Giving up on Beal, who is signed through 2020–21,
wouldn’t be easy, but unless Sheppard can find a
way to get out from under Wall’s deal, it could wind
up being the only move he can make. —R.N.36.9
*NEW ACQUISITION \ R ROOKIE (COLLEGE STATS)TELLING NUMBER
∂25 wins ∂Miss the playoffs ∂Despite the Wiz’s best efforts, Bradley Beal will finish the season in D.C.ENEMY LINES
A rival scout weighs inStartersISH
SMITH*
8.9 PPG; 3.6 APG;
2.6 RPG; 41.9 FG%PG
BRADLEY
BEAL
25.6 PPG; 5.5 APG;
47.5 FG%; 35.1 3FG%SG
RUI
HACHIMURA (R)
19.7 PPG; 6.5 RPG;
1.5 APG; 59.1 FG%PF
THOMAS
BRYANT
10.5 PPG; 6.3 RPG;
0.9 BPG; 61.6 FG%CIt’s just a dumpster
fire. What did they do
this summer? I really
like Tomáš Satoranský,
and they just let him
walk [to Chicago] and
replaced him with ISH
SMITH and ISAIAH THOMAS.
Yikes. Everyone loves
Ish—he plays the rightway. But Isaiah’s going
to be thinking about
Isaiah.... The starting
center is THOMAS BRYANT.
He’s a good young big,
but he’s thinking about
his next deal. I saw
him in the G League
and was like, O.K.,
that kid plays hard.
But if you’re going to
suck, I’m all for letting
Bryant run. And if you
develop him, you havea really, really good
backup center.... I like
RUI HACHIMURA. He just
seemed solid [at the
FIBA World Cup]. Some
of the stuff he was
doing, you’re like, Wow
that guy can really be
something. He can
score and will develop
three-point range. He
seems like a good kid
with good skills and
good positional size.I hope they use him
correctly—let him
play on the perimeter,
shoot threes. Have him
take it off the glass,
bring the ball up....
What will they do with
BRADLEY BEAL? He’ll
score 30 a game, but
at the end of the year,
they were dreadful.
Because he’s new, [GM
Tommy Sheppard]
can buy himselfsome time to make
a trade. They have to
get to a point where
they say, “As great a
franchise player as
Brad is, we’re past our
window. We need to
move on.” He’s a great
guy, hard worker, good
teammate—but when
do you start over?... It
seems like a tank year.
They’re going to be
picking in the top five.Projected Lineup
ISAIAH
THOMAS*
8.1 PPG; 1.9 APG;
34.3 FG%; 27.9 3FG%PG
TROY
BROWN JR.
4.8 PPG; 2.8 RPG;
1.5 APG; 41.5 FG%SFBench
SF
C.J.
MILES*
6.4 PPG; 1.8 RPG;
36.0 FG%; 33.0 3FG%82 Crystal Ball:
NED DISHMAN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (BEAL)THE
EAST
Wizards
WASHING TON
2018 – 19 RECORD 32– 50 4th in Southeast
COACH SCOTT BROOKS 4th season with Wizards