The Washington Wizards have every intention to offer shooting guard Bradley Beal a three-year, $111 million maximum contract extension when first eligible on Friday, July 26, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
“At the very first moment allowed, we are going to offer Bradley the full max extension,” said newly-named general manager Tommy Sheppard.
Beal would have until October 21 to sign the extension, which would start with the 2021-22 season, a decision his agent Mark Bartelstein noted will take time for his client to consider.
“There are moments in a career where there are big decisions to make, and Brad will work through everything and figure out the right thing to do,” Bartelstein told ESPN. “There are nothing but great feelings for Ted [Leonsis], Tommy and Scott [Brooks]. They've treated Brad wonderfully.”
The Wizards would also be willing to work on a one- or two-year extensions, if Beal opts for future flexibility, according to Sheppard. If he was to pass on the extension (as some expect him to do), the Wizards won't engage in trade talks yet, as there's still two years and $55.8 million left on his contract.
“He's got two years left on his deal, and he's from Missouri and we are going to have to show him,” said Sheppard. “We need to show him that we are about building this the right way, that we aren't going to have character-deficient guys around him. We are going to surround him with guys he wants to play with. He saw that right away in free agency with us bringing back Thomas Bryant.”
Sheppard, who has run the front office of the organization on an interim basis for the past three months, has already taken the steps to make Beal a priority, making him a part of the draft room process while considering his opinion before retooling a roster that will likely be without John Wall for the 2019-20 season.
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