Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal
SG, 6’5, 207lbs, 23 years old, 5 years of experience

Broke out and improved in all facets. Shot better than ever from outside, finished better at the rim, cut down his turnovers slightly, improved his playmaking slightly, improved his defence on smaller guards slightly, and made a big step towards the top. More importantly, the chemistry with Wall is incredibly strong. Now they need some help.

Player Plan: Begins four year, circa. $103.4 million extension this summer, and with his break-out season just gone, has justified it.

[...] Meanwhile, Bradley Beal's slow start has long since been forgotten about, and any worries about a sophomore slump can be disregarded. Prior to his injury, Beal was averaging 20.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, shooting 44% from three point range along the way. He is already everything O.J. Mayo was supposed to be ­notwithstanding some defensive concerns and overall scoring inefficiency (41% overall shooting), Beal is the answer to the NBA's recent dearth in young shooting guards, an offensive machine who can get past anybody, or shoot over them if he'd rather. The duo are legitimately captivating. This is a pairing akin to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, not Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis. And it is they (especially Wall, who has driven the team to a 4­-1 record thus far in Beal's absence) who backbone it all.

Pick 3: Washington does the expected and shores up its weakest position with one of the draft's better prospects. They take Bradley Beal, who is instantly lauded as one of the draft's better shooters and more efficient scorers, despite hitting only 34% from the college three point last year.

Washington certainly needs more shooting. John Wall is the foundation, and John Wall can't shoot, but neither can those around him. Of the accompanying pieces, Jordan Crawford might be the best shooter, and his career high three point percentage is all of 28.9%. If Beal brings his high school jumpshot, he'll be an instant help in this regard. And if he does, we can start calling him the BB Gunner. (Thus creates the first terrible nickname of this diary. Beal's own choice for a nickname sames to be Real Deal Beal, but frankly, I'm not listening.)

Beal's interview goes the way of Anthony Davis's, steeped in clichés and vows of working hard, whilst never directly answering the questions posed of him. This, while boring to the casual fan, is somewhat comforting, as it demonstrates a good understanding of professionalism in a league where nothing less than that is acceptable. Rece Davis throws it back to Broussard, who, for the second time in the broadcast, pronounces Nene's name as "Nay Nay." So I'm not the only one out there, then.

Chris Broussard talks in reverential tones about Beal as a "man," just as the panel had also done previously about Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist. He then talks about the Wizards's need to resolve what he calls a "knucklehead factor," something JVG piles on with, saying that to call it that is to be kind. The players who left the Wizards in the last few months = JaVale McGee, Nick Young, Roger Mason. Have those guys been stabbed in the back? No. They've been stabbed in the front. Without ever naming names of who is meant, reputations have just been blackmarked indelibly forever. And I don't mean Roger Mason's.