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It's been less than 72 hours since the Denver Nuggets officially clinched their first NBA title and, thus, put an end to the 2022-23 season. Yet, already the summer trade rumor mill is starting to pick up immense speed, and easily the biggest name found within its spin is Washington Wizards guard, Bradley Beal.
According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, there are many rival executives across the association who believe that the Wizards could be gearing up for a full-fledged rebuild. Of course, should this happen, Beal would be priority number one when it comes to sending players outbound, with Robbins reporting in a subsequent Tweet that he and the franchise would “work together” to find a suitor for his services.
As is the case virtually every offseason when it comes to a top-flight talent rumored to be available, the New York Knicks have been tabbed as a legitimate threat to land the three-time All-Star.
After finishing with the ninth-best record in the league and nabbing their first playoff series win in a decade last season, Leon Rose and company will be looking to make some roster-bolstering moves this summer to better the team's odds of achieving even greater success come 2023-24 and beyond.
However, though bringing on a player like Bradley Beal would certainly make the Knicks more intriguing from an on-paper and name-recognition standpoint, there are two major reasons why such an addition shouldn't be made by the organization this summer.
Reason No. 1) Fit
As noted, the Knicks will certainly be looking to build off their 2022-23 successes this offseason by bolstering their talent pool to fill up any and all holes present within their rotation. However, though to some accomplishing such a goal is believed to be as simple as adding the best available player, on the contrary, it's far more complex than that.
Sure, pursuing another top-tier baller to add to their arsenal is without a doubt a major goal, but the deciding factor when it comes to the question of who they should target is how well their game style could fit within New York's current scheme and when paired with their established cornerstone players.
Though they may have ranked a measly 19 in defensive rating (114.2) this past year, a Tom Thibodeau-coached squad generally prides itself on their play on the less glamorous side of the ball.
The goal in this department should be to try and improve upon their shortcomings and adding a lowly defender like Bradley Beal (boasts a -1.6 defensive plus/minus and a 116 defensive rating since 2019-20) to the mix will by no means help their cause on this front.
Now, of course, the shooting guard is best known for his offensive attributes, as he's rightly considered to be one of the premier scoring weapons in the game today. However, though the concept of adding a player who has averaged 27.0 points over the last five seasons to this team is certainly appealing, the volume that it has taken for Beal to put up such numbers must be acknowledged.
During this span, the 29-year-old has averaged a whopping 20.6 attempts per game. To put this into perspective, last season the three main scorers on the Knicks in Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, and RJ Barrett averaged 18.6, 17.6, and 16.1 attempts per game, respectively.
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Even with assuming New York ships Barrett out to Washington in a hypothetical exchange, Bradley Beal's shot attempts are still all but guaranteed to decrease significantly when paired alongside Randle and Barrett, which, considering he's at his best when in high-volume, isolation-centric scoring sets, could wind up having a negative impact on his efficiency on offense.
If you're not getting the fullest of what Bradley Beal can provide for a club, is he really worth it for the Knicks to shell out what is likely to be a package flush with draft capital and young, high-upside prospects? Or, in other words, is this really worth the type of deal, or at least something similar to the one that they already refused to offer up last offseason for a younger and better-fitting Donovan Mitchell?
Reason No. 2) Better options could arise should they wait
While this plays a bit into point number one, frankly, this is arguably an even more important concept to consider if you're the Knicks.
Playing in the biggest market in sports like New York, front offices are bound to feel some sort of pressure to piece together a roster worthy of generating considerable buzz in a timely manner. However, rushing the process often results in falling short of every team's goal which, of course, is winning a championship.
One would hope this organization has learned a thing or two since the all-in Carmelo Anthony blockbuster of 2011!
As a whole, the franchise needs to be wary of cashing in their proverbial chips too early. Bradley Beal is undoubtedly one of the brightest stars this league has to offer, but waiting on a better-fitting player could prove to be the right move for Leon Rose and his staff should they wish to truly set the team up for long-term sustained success.
From Jaylen Brown to Joel Embiid, there are plenty of players that could easily wind up becoming available in the not-too-distant future. By putting all their eggs into the Beal basket, automatically they'll be taking themselves out of the running for such individuals and could wind up kicking themselves for not holding out.
