The Washington Wizards are dealing with a major injury to Bradley Beal and he could be out for two weeks with a fractured wrist and while the Wiz could look at trade options to get by, reports say the team is planning to sit tight and some free agent options the team could look at include Rashard Lewis, Michael Beasley, Toney Douglas and Dante Cunningham until Beal returns.
According to CBS Sports, the Wizards are not considering making any trades right now to help stem the loss of Beal, as they do not want to give up draft picks as they try and build a winner. John Wall and Paul Pierce will have added pressure on them with Beal out, but the Wizards feel better about waiting to see how Beal progresses before making any hasty trades.
Beasley just went over to China to play for the Shanghai Sharks, but he could return at some point to a team like the Wizards after playing for the Heat last season. Beasley was previously with the Memphis Grizzlies in training camp and he left to sign in China to the team owned by Yao Ming. The contracts in China likely keep him from leaving, but there he will be playing with some NBA players, including Metta World Peace and Al Harrington.
The Wizards are coming into the season as one of the top young teams in the east and one of the main reasons was due to the backcourt with Beal and John Wall. The team won a playoff series last season for the first time in years and they pulled off a very smart trade before the season for Marcin Gortat that has turned out well and he should be an impact player this year again. Beal is very young, so he will have time to get back from this injury and continue his development, but losing him for two months is a tough pill to swallow for the team this season.
The Wizards now can use John Wall and Glen Rice in the backcourt, but that is a downgrade from what the team had with Wall. According to CBS Sports, the team also reached out to Ray Allen, but that is an unlikely option and one that wouldn't really help with the Beal injury anyway. Pierce is likely going to have to take on more of the load and Wall also will have to do more until Beal can return to the lineup.
Beal previously missed time as a rookie and he also missed 13 games in his second season and now he will have to wait until the middle of the year to come back. The Wizards added Pierce but lost Trevor Ariza in the offseason and depth could now be an issue. The Wizards are still likely as playoff team in the east, but they will have to weather the storm.
