New Wizards president of basketball operations Michael Winger clearly decided that getting cap space and resetting the roster were higher priorities than the same old, same old with standout guard Bradley Beal.
So Winger is sending Beal and his massive contract to the Suns in exchange for point guard Chris Paul, guard Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and first-round pick swaps, according to reports.
As we relayed here, the Wizards could send Paul to a third team before the deal is done. Though by all accounts, the Wizards aren’t against keeping Paul. But they seemingly will let him make the call if he would like to stay.
Paul could potentially garner the Wizards another player, or pick, in a trade with an interested contender (such as the Clippers).
They could also waive Shamet, as explained by Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
“The contracts for Paul and Shamet are fully non-guaranteed for the 2024-25 season; as long as the Wizards waive them before late June 2024, none of Paul’s $30 million salary and Shamet’s $11 million salary for the 2024-25 season would count against the Wizards’ cap figure,” Robbins wrote.
In other words, the Wizards will have massive amounts of cap flexibility. And let’s not forget, forward Kyle Kuzma is expected to decline his $13 million option and become a free agent at the end of the month. A sign-and-trade could potentially be in the works there, too.
So these are the new Wizards under Winger and new GM Will Dawkins. It may not be pretty at first, but the possibilities should be endless by the time the season rolls around.
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