Wizards' Wittman: 'Brad and John are going to be here a long time'
The future success of the Washington Wizards revolves heavily around their dynamic backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal.
Joe Boozell of NBA.com ranked Wall and Beal as the NBA's third-best backcourt back in March. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors were first and second, respectively.
The Wizards' duo combined to average 40.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 16.5 assists during the team's recent postseason run. Washington was booted from the playoffs after a heartbreaking 94-91 Game 6 loss at home to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Coach Randy Wittman told Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post on Saturday that fans don't need to worry about the young pair not being a part of any long-term plans.
Wittman: "Brad and John are going to be here a long time." Beal is eligible for an extension this summer.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) May 16, 2015
That statement says more about the future of Beal, though, as Wall signed a five-year, $80-million extension in 2013.
Beal is eligible for an extension this summer. He averaged 15.3 points and 3.8 rebounds on 42.7 percent shooting in 63 games during the regular season.
A potential four-year extension would commence in 2016-17, but that would eat up a lot of space the Wizards have to make a run at Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, as Zach Lowe of Grantland points out.