Bleacher Report pitched a bad trade idea for the Cleveland Cavaliers to get Bradley Beal
Leave it to Bleacher Report to pitch bad trade ideas for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let’s be clear, this isn’t some absurd trade idea, the assets going over aren’t over the top for a player that has the perception that Bradley Beal does. It’s not the pieces, so much the player. The Cavs should absolutely be all out of any potential Bradley trade.
So what is in this trade idea that Bleacher Report is pitching?
Well, it’s the usual suspects, Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen plus two first-round picks.
Now at first glance, if you’re getting an All-NBA caliber player for two players and two draft picks, you have to consider it, right? Normally yes, normally in a situation like this you absolutely do just that. Except here. Except now. Except with Beal.
The fact is there are four really good reasons, why the Cavs shouldn’t do this trade and we’re going to tackle each and every one of them. The fact is the Cavs don’t need Beal. Beal needs the Cavs because the Cavs are heading to the playoffs in 2023 assuming they’re healthy.
That’s the issue that held the Cavs back in 2021-2022; health, not talent. So no, the Cavaliers should absolutely not do this trade, under any circumstances, regardless of talent going over.
But why?
Age/Timeline
Bradley Beal will be 29 years old in a manner of weeks. Yes, guys like Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are older, and they’re both guys I’ve advocated for keeping and bringing back, so why am I ok with two early-30 somethings compared to Beal? Simple, Beal would be a/the star of the team, while Love and Rubio are roleplayers off the bench.
You’re not getting a prime Beal in this trade, and you’re giving up two assets who haven’t hit their primes yet. So if you’re going all-in on Beal it should be for a good reason, like desperation. You’re desperate to make the playoffs because you know your team isn’t that good.
That’s where the conversation ends, as the Cavs are a good team and are not desperate for Beal. By moving on from two young players like Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen, not only are you replacing them with an older player and creating depth issues, but you’re also messing with the team’s timeline.
With Sexton and Markkanen the Cavs have a much longer window of competition than with Beal. Beal would fit alongside much better a team like Chicago, Phoenix, or Miami, squads over-relying on older players to produce. There is no DeMar Derozan, Chris Paul, or Jimmy Butler you need to max out your squad to win a title in the next year or two. You have time with the Cavs.
You lose that time if you trade for Beal.
Declining and Overall Play
Bradley Beal had a bad 2021-2022 season. That’s not up for debate. He played just 40 games (more on that later) and shot his worst from the floor since he was 23. He fell off from scoring the ball, dropping his points per game total by eight full points, and his three-point shooting was abysmal, barely 30%.
There’s no reason to think he’ll ever be a 30-point scorer a game ever again. Why would he? Especially on the Cavs? Beal isn’t anything impressive outside of his ability to score. He’s not a great passer, he can’t help rebounding and his defense is bad.
Frankly, and I mean this, Collin Sexton looks like a better fit with the Cavaliers than Beal.
Beal isn’t the superstar so many think or want him to be. He’s had one All-NBA nod and it was on a team that saw him jack up 22 shots a game just to finish with 34 wins. Beal isn’t that guy. We’ve seen real All-NBA guys and what they’re capable of. For the price of his game, he’s just not worth investing in.
Not when the one thing he’s good at, scoring, can be had for cheaper with Sexton. Give Sexton a shot and avoid having to pay hand over fist for Beal and his bloated reputation.
Contract
A healthy Bradley Beal isn’t worth $36 million per year, and Beal, whatever he is now, isn’t worth that or more. Beal would be coming to the Cavs on a one-year, $36 million deal, and he’s going to want an extension around the same amount of what he’s already been paid. Beal just isn’t worth that.
Be honest with yourself, besides scoring 30 points per game when he was younger, what else does Beal offer your team that warrants that much money, over the course of four or five years? He can’t play defense, and if he’s not shooting well, he can’t facilitate for other players. He’s a one-trick pony that benefits from the NBA’s desire to make superstars out of better-than-average players.
I genuinely don’t think Beal is a superstar. He can’t lead his team to a winning record when he puts up huge numbers, which means he isn’t impacting all facets of the game. If he’s as good as his salary claims he is, he better be able to do just that. If he wants to shave his contract demands in half, then sure, let’s talk.
Yet, an undersized shooting guard, with a fat deal, no three-point shot to speak, and a history of losing as the top dog? Yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me dog.
Injury issues
Lastly and most importantly, Bradley Beal can’t stay healthy. Over the last three seasons, he’s only played in 66% of games for the Washington Wizards. He’s only gotten more banged up and suffered more injuries as that time ticked by. What’s more likely to happen, that he gets hurt again with the Cavs, or that he’s magically healthy and played 82 games for every year he’s in Cleveland?
This isn’t just a recent trend, in fact, his earlier injuries are proof that his issues are just getting worse. For the first four years of his career, he played in just 70 games once, and only twice in his career has he hit 80+ games. He missed 25% of games possible over the first four years of his career. Now he’s missing 34% of the games he could be playing.
If Beal was on a fair deal, coming over in free agency, sure, let’s take the risk. We can get him for two years and see how it plays out. That’s not the case here. You’re giving up two young assets, and two first-round picks to get a player who can’t win when if he’s healthy, and that’s a big “if” as he’s apparently perpetually hurt or dealing with nagging injuries.
It’s best to not go after Beal, as his history of injuries, his age, declining age, and contract demands would be disastrous for the Cavs to navigate.