The ultimate goal in the NBA is to win a championship. When teams bring players in, or decide to tank, they have an end goal of hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy at season's end. For the Washington Wizards, they have a star backcourt duo in Bradley Beal and John Wall, but they haven't been enough to push them to a deep playoff run. The team needs to add another piece to get to the next level in a weak Eastern Conference.
Wall had been pretty quiet in trying to build the Wizards' future. His backcourt partner is taking a more proactive approach to getting more talent to Washington. According to NBC Sports Washington's Chase Hughes, Beal was doing some recruiting of his fellow All-Stars this past weekend.
Help might be needed following Wall's torn Achilles, but the Wizards are not a financially viable option for superstar talent. They are projected by Spotrac to be over the salary cap.
It has to be believed that Beal's pleas did not fall upon superstar ears that will command giant contracts. He needed to recruit a top talent who is looking to win a championship and is willing to take a pay cut to do so. The Kevin Durant's and Kawhi Leonard's of the world are likely not in the realm of possibility.
Who Would Listen?
One of the possibilities might be Milwaukee Bucks sharpshooter Khris Middleton, who has a player option at the end of the season. With his 17.1 points per game, he can help the Wizards with scoring from the outside next season.
Another thought might be Orlando Magic big man Nikola Vucevic. He will be an unrestricted free agent and could provide plenty of value to the Wizards with his 20.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.
Anthony Davis makes a degree of sense too. He wants to move on from the New Orleans Pelicans and he is not counting out any teams. With that logic, Washington is a potentially desirable destination.
Will It Work?
It is an uphill battle, but Beal may or may not have been doing some tampering/recruiting during the All-Star game. With the money issue in Washington, getting top talent to the Wizards will be tough sledding.
One of the biggest question marks in getting top talent on the Wizards will be 28 year-old guard Wall's health. Part of any player's decision would almost certainly be surrounded by questions by his play-making ability. His career 9.2 assists per game should be enticing to any player.
If half the battle is getting to the playoffs, then playing in the Eastern Conference should be one of the best things that can happen. As it stands, the seventh and eighth seed in the conference have losing records. The highest ranked team with a losing record in the West is the 10th place Los Angeles Lakers.
The Wizards are three games out of the playoffs right now. They will be looking for that boost into the postseason for next year. Beal is doing is due diligence to get his team as far as it can go. They could be one All-Star caliber player away from a deep playoff run.
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