Dummy. Wasting his best years on a terrible team.
I would be very surprised if Beal weren’t traded next summer, at his request, to one of a few teams of his choosing. The deal is structured to offer Beal protection against a trade that he doesn’t choose, while giving him the ability to immediately opt in if he’s traded to a team he does choose. Beal gets financial security with only a small increased likelihood of staying in Washington.
I wouldn't say "very surprise if he weren't" that implies like a 80%+ certainty to me, and given how hard the Wizards have pushed back against trade rumors, and how little we've heard about Beal trying to push his way out it doesn't seem like there's momentum in that direction. But it may be a distinct possibility. Maybe this is a reason to try an get a Brown extension down this summer, so you have a matching to make a Beal deal? We know how complicated salary matching with sign and trades is.
I do think the probability is at or above 80%. I think this deal represents the two sides agreeing to give Beal some added financial security while waiting until next summer for both Beal and the Wizards to evaluate the direction of the franchise — essentially giving John Wall a year to heal. I don’t think that evaluation will be favorable to the Wizards prospects of contending any time soon, and both sides will try to find a landing place for Beal that is competitive while giving the Wizards good compensation.
Ya thats all fair, you may be right. My only caveat would be thats how a logical franchise would behave and I think the Wizards are a bad franchise (cough*hornets*caught) that might just hang on to a guy beyond when they should trade him, which is absolutely next summer.
With the lack of big time free agents available next summer the Wizards would have immense leverage with an all star level player with 2 years left who will be only 27 years old.