Beal wants max contract: 'I'm a max player'
Bradley Beal has every intention of remaining a core ingredient of the Washington Wizards' roster as he enters restricted free agency this summer. However, the 22-year-old guard is looking for max money in order to keep him in red, white, and blue.
"I want to be valued the right way," Beal said in a phone interview with the Washington Post's Jorge Castillo while on a NBA promotional tour in Japan.
"I feel like I'm a max player and that's what I'm looking for. If Washington can't meet that requirement then I may be thinking elsewhere. I'm pretty sure that they probably won't (let me go). At the end of the day, that's where I want to be. I think a deal will probably get done but you just never know."
By holding his Bird Rights, the Wizards are the only team that can sign Beal to a five-year contract, while all others can only lock him down to four. Washington can also offer him more money by exceeding the salary cap, which is set to reach upwards of $92 million and possibly even more.
Beal doesn't come without his red flags, though, as injuries have been a major cause for concern since the organization drafted him third overall in 2012. He's missed 19 or more games three of the four seasons he's been in the league, the most noteworthy injury being a stress reaction in his right fibula which he's suffered every year.
"I hear about it all the time, but that doesn't define me as a player," Beal said in reference to his injury history. "That won't stop me from growing as a player and it won't stop me from being who I am. The injury thing, that's behind me. I'm moving forward. I'm past it. I'm focused on my career from here on out."
The Wizards attempted to sign Beal to an extension early in the 2015-16 campaign for less than the max, but he declined in order to take his chances after the season with the hope being that he'd make more money.
In 55 games, Beal averaged 17.4 points on 44.9 percent shooting, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and a steal in 31.1 minutes for the 41-41 Wizards, who missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13.