Milwaukee Bucks: Should a potential Bradley Beal trade be explored?
By Robby Cowles
Why the Bucks should trade for Beal
As I just mentioned, it doesn’t take much thought to figure out why the Bucks should want Bradley Beal. It’s the same reason most NBA teams would want Beal; he’s really good.
Including this season, Beal has averaged over 20 points per game and an effective field goal percentage above 50 percent over the past three years. Even though he’s only 25-years-old, Beal is in the middle of his seventh season for the Wizards.
Beal has grown alongside fellow All-Star John Wall as the core for a team that may have never reached the heights of being a legitimate contender in the East, but still won a lot of games over multiple seasons and made the playoffs four out of the past five years.
In those playoffs appearances, Beal has averaged over 23 points per game in all but one of those campaigns, showing that he’s able to pick up his game when it matters most.
The former Florida Gator also has a history of being clutch. Just ask Budenholzer, who had to face Beal at his best with the Wizards in the playoffs while with the Hawks.
Also, there’s a strong argument to be made that if the Wizards surrounded Wall and Beal with even a competent group of role players, they would have been even better. But I digress.
In a vacuum, Beal is a good, young NBA shooting guard who is tailor-made for the modern game. But there’s also the team fit to consider.
Beal has one of the most flawless shooting strokes you’ll see. It’s why he’s drawn comparisons to Ray Allen since his college days. Unfortunately for Beal, he’s had to play under coaches who haven’t been able to fully unleash his potential.
Beal has had to play under coaches like Randy Wittman and Scott Brooks. Wittman is an objectively bad coach and Brooks is…fine. No one is going to mistake those two for innovators of the game.
What I would give to watch Beal play under the “let it fly” offense the Bucks use under Budenholzer, where practically every three-pointer is a good shot. It would be similar to watching the change of Khris Middleton‘s game, who traded in his tough mid-range jumpers for spot-up threes and is having a career year.
Now imagine Bradley Beal in a Bucks uniform coming off a double screen from Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Man, that’s a pretty image to think about.
There are also some non-basketball reasons in favor of the Bucks trading for Beal.
Let’s say, hypothetically, the Bucks trade Eric Bledsoe and a pick and maybe Tony Snell or Thon Maker or any other Bucks player that’s not Giannis or Middleton.
Bledsoe’s contract is up after this year and he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Middleton can opt-out of his contract after this season (which he almost undoubtedly will) and Brogdon also becomes an unrestricted free agent.
By trading away Bledsoe to get Beal, who is under contract for the next three years including this season, things could become a little clearer for the Bucks. With Beal locked up for the future, the Bucks could focus on bringing back Middleton and Brogdon, and adding Beal makes Milwaukee a more enticing free agent destination.
Also, if Middleton leaves (or if he was even to be included in a trade), the Bucks would have some insurance locked in with Beal.
Trading for Beal would also show how aggressive the Bucks are in their pursuit to win now, which is becoming more important every season they get closer to Giannis’ contract expiring. It’s a message to the team, and especially Giannis, from management that they are willing to swing for the fences and bring All-Star players to Milwaukee in an attempt to win now.
Would trading for Beal automatically guarantee that Giannis will never leave Milwaukee? No, but it probably can’t hurt.
That’s a laundry list of reasons for why the Bucks should go after the suddenly available Bradley Beal, even if it means giving up a heavy price. But there are also numerous reasons to consider not doing it.