Report: Extending Wall is Wizards' top priority; Wall wants 'bigger picture plan' first

The Washington Wizards are coming off their best season in nearly 40 years, and they have John Wall to thank.

The 26-year-old posted career highs in points (23.1), assists (10.7), steals (2.0), true shooting percentage (54.1), usage rate (30.6), win shares (8.8), and PER (23.2) this season, leading Washington to its highest win total (49) and first division title since 1979. After his career year, signing Wall to an extension is the Wizards' top offseason priority, sources told CSN's J. Michael.

Wall's current contract runs through the 2018-19 season, but the league's new Collective Bargaining Agreement allows players to become eligible for extensions when they're two years from free agency.

Thanks to his seven years of service time with Washington and his All-NBA third team selection this year, Wall will also be eligible for the new Designated Player Extension created in the new CBA. That will allow the Wizards to offer an extension that tacks four years onto his current deal - with an annual salary starting at 35 percent of the cap - keeping him under team control through his age-32 season. Based on current cap projections, those four years would be worth almost $170 million if the Wizards forked over the full max.

Keen though they are, the Wizards have reportedly yet to reach out to Wall to discuss the extension, and he may not be quite as amenable as the team hopes. He wants to see "a bigger picture plan on where the franchise is headed" before agreeing to a long-term deal, sources told Michael.

The Wizards appear to have the foundation of a strong young core in place, with Wall's backcourt running mate Bradley Beal locked in for four more years. Perhaps the biggest question about their "bigger picture plan" is what they intend to do with blossoming swingman Otto Porter, who will be a highly coveted, handsomely compensated restricted free agent this summer. Matching an offer sheet for Porter would take the Wizards well over the cap, leaving them little roster maneuverability, and few means - beyond internal development - of leaping into the stratum of bona fide contenders.

The Wizards during Wall's tenure have teased brilliance at various points, but their best basketball has come in fits and starts, and they've still yet to reach the 50-win plateau or make it out of the second round of the playoffs. As good as Wall and Beal have been, depth has been a longstanding issue, and a crippling one. Money talks, but it sounds as though it may take a more ambitious plan than "stay the course" to convince Wall to stick around for the remainder of his prime years.