Would the Wizards Ever Take Back Bradley Beal's Contract?

The divorce was a longtime coming, with the Wizards having clearly missed their boat at even fringe-contention. The days of John Wall and Russell Westbrook running the point were long gone, but Beal was still handed the kind of five-year, $251 million deal that's usually only given to the faces of the league.

Even worse was that Sheppard included a no-trade clause into the contract, adding Beal to an even more exclusive club of players to ever earn that much leverage within their organization. This gave Beal veto power in any decision the front office attempted to make regarding his future, meaning he could dictate where he was traded should Washington's front office decide to part ways.

New management adopted Beal with four years remaining on his quarter-billion dollar agreement, and sent him packing to the Suns almost immediately. Beal was open to contending for titles alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, and the Wizards were perfectly happy with the boatload of picks they got back from Phoenix alongside Chris Paul in the return, who they quickly swapped to Golden State for Jordan Poole.

Things in Phoenix have since taken a nasty turn, with the Suns finishing at 36-46 this past regular season and missing the Play-In Tournament entirely. They swiftly fired head coach Mike Budenholzer, the third consecutive year they've ended a season by splitting with their coach. Durant is getting old, Booker isn't well maximized in his current role, and Beal is invisible as a mildly-efficient pure-scorer on a team that needs help doing the dirty work.

That trio is currently soaking up much of the Suns' cap room, and their pool of assets currently resided in the Wizards' pockets. They've done all but directly say that Durant is likely to be traded in the offseason, and they'll do whatever they can do ditch Beal.

With about $111 million still owed to Beal, what front office would even want him? His contract is bad enough to have stalled the trade market during the last mid-season deadline, resulting in an awkward agreement between he and the franchise to finish out this past regular season together.

Funny enough, the Wizards were one of the only teams to give the Suns any interest on a Beal swap. They, alongside the Hawks, seemed interested in Beal if he were willing to waive his no-trade clause, but Phoenix balked and no move was made.

Perhaps the Wizards were interested in trying to flip him again in another bloated contract-for-assets move, and now that the season is completely over, it's worth questioning if DC would call again.

It's not likely that Beal would play for a team as far from competing as Washington is in his current state, but the Suns are about as far from being taken seriously as one could imagine, especially if Durant departs. He may receive heightened interest in another year when his monster deal is set to expire, should Washington pick through the bones and take whatever picks haven't already been claimed.

DC is in the business of taking on players with price tags that no one else wants to pay, assuming the collaborating team throws a pick or two into a deal like Memphis did in handing Marcus Smart over to the Wizards. Even for Washington and their lack of any short-term winning ambitions, a depleted team like Phoenix weighed down as badly as they are by Beal may be considered a stay-away for both sides.