So the Los Angeles Lakers are sitting at 2-9 at the moment with LeBron James more than likely missing the next 2 games with a minor groin injury which he suffered late in their loss against the Los Angeles Clippers recently. Bradley Beal has truly blown me away with his decisions over the past few years, I always saw him as the sidekick when he lined up alongside John Wall who was the true face of the franchise in the mid 2010’s when they were I guess you could say somewhat of a contender to possibly sneak in and win a championship but with LeBron James at the peak of his powers John Wall and Bradley Beal at best got the Washington Wizards to the semi-finals where they were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in a series which went 7 games. Fast forward to now and John Wall is coming off the bench for the Los Angeles Clippers hoping to be their best player off the bench and Bradley Beal is sitting on a fat 5-year extension given to him by Tommy Sheppard who just can’t seem to grasp that Bradley Beal won’t ever be Kobe Bryant for him in Washington.
Bradley Beal has shown he can average over 30 points per game in a season but that has got him nowhere over the past few years and yes it’s all nice and dandy that Bradley Beal wants to be one of the few ambassadors for being a star player that remains with one franchise but he just isn’t on Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokoumpo’s level as a player to really warrant that in Washington. The jury is still out on Damian Lillard and I won’t put a label on him just yet since I am quite interested to see how he does with this revamped roster he has around him which does not include CJ McCollum whom he lined up alongside for years and both were never able to deliver a championship let alone make a NBA Finals berth together. With a 2-way forward in Jerami Grant who can play both ends at an above average level and Anfernee Simons receiving the green light from head coach Chauncey Billups there is room for optimism with the Portland Trailblazers and I won’t be sleeping on them this season.
As far as Bradley Beal’s situation in Washington Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis of course stick out as their two best players beyond Bradley Beal and Deni Avdija seems a lot more comfortable this season within head coach Wes Unseld Jr’s offense but there is just no way Bradley Beal will be able to deliver a championship with this roster. So Washington is practically treading water over the next few years unless Kevin Durant decides he wants to play for his hometown team and join Bradley Beal in Washington which is not something I foresee but it’s Kevin Durant so anything is possible. Maybe they can play good enough basketball from now till the deadline and make themselves a desirable situation for Kevin Durant but I don’t see any assets Brooklyn would want from Washington aside from Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma and losing either will only weaken the team at the moment. So the question is how much better would Bradley Beal make the Los Angeles Lakers and would he be the answer to what has been a nightmare for the Lakers the past 2 season? I believe so.
Watching the Lakers-Clippers game I realized that yes LeBron James’s +/- was the worst between both teams at -17 but he also looked like the only player on the Lakers who was raelly applying pressure on the Clippers’s defense that is where Bradley Beal steps in. He’s never been a great 3-point shooter or marksman like most would say but Bradley Beal is in my opinion an elite scorer his defense and play-making abilities are what have really kept him from becoming an elite basketball player at the NBA level. On the Lakers he’ll no longer have to worry about shouldering a team on his shoulders he can just focus on doing what he does best which is put that leather ball inside that rim and white-nylon. LeBron James and Anthony Davis can shoulder the load, they have proven they can win a championship with the right complimentary pieces the problem is not that Russell Westbrook reeks and needs to retire it’s just that he does not fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Bradley Beal will all but erase any questions and concerns over who should be handling the ball more between Russell Westbrook and LeBron James which LeBron critics would argue should be Westbrook due to his resurgence over the past 4-5 games but I’ll take the guy who has won 4 championships and been the anchor on all of them to top it off.
It would likely have to be a 3-team trade as Tommy Sheppard will more than likely want more than just Russell Westbrook and the Lakers 2027 and 2029 first-round picks for Bradley Beal but again a trade to Los Angeles will only be possible if Bradley Beal decides he wants to shake the NBA and surprise us for once which he clearly has not done ever since John Wall left Washington. I’d love to see Bradley Beal win a championship in Washington if he were to able accomplish that impossible task this season he’d easily go down a top 5 shooting-guard all-time right behind Michael Jordan,Kobe Bryant,and Dwyane Wade but let’s get back to reality it’s not happening. Bradley Beal is at a point in his career where he’s proven he can play at an all-star level but he’ll never become a legend in Washington like Wes Unseld let alone Gilbert Arenas who put his stamp on the Wizards much more than he has in the 2000’s when I was a teenager. What he could do is actually demand to put himself in a situation where he is playing meaningful basketball heading into June and what better setting to put your scoring skills on display than in the bright lights of Los Angeles alongside arguably the best basketball player to ever grace planet earth in King James? Till next time.
D-NBA 