Last week Andrew Bogut suggested that Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal will be looking to go to Philadelphia during this off-season. While adding the Wizards’ star sounds all well and good, the question remains, do the Philadelphia 76ers need Bradley Beal?
Beal has been a star for the Wizards that has really stepped up his game over the past few years. Despite being just 28 years old, Bradley Beal has been in the league for ten years and averages 22.1 points per game. Over the past 5 seasons, though, he has averaged 26.3 points per game as the past two seasons, he’s averaged over 30. The issue with Beal lately has been injuries.
Beal had his name, along with that of James Harden, mentioned the most during this season’s NBA trade deadline as a target for the Sixers. Then, Beal opted for season-ending surgery on his injured wrist, all but ending any discussion of him being moved. For Beal, this has been an issue over the past year as he’s battled hip, hamstring, back, and knee issues over the past twelve months. It’s not assured, but it’s a bad sign when a player is suddenly handling multiple injuries over an extended period of time. Regardless of that, Beal has still managed to play well and is considered one of the better guards in the league.
So why would the 76ers want to bring him in? There are a few reasons, and the first is that it’s Bradley Beal; you know what you’re getting with him. The second reason is that the 76ers could hope to move on from the albatross that is Tobias Harris’ contract. The third would be that a trio of Beal, Harden, and Embiid would be a star-studded trio that the league doesn’t really have right now.
In spite of the positives, Beal doesn’t belong in Philly. James Harden has repeatedly said that Philly was the place he wanted to be all along, dating back to his time in Houston. He’s going to re-sign with the Sixers and, more than likely, finish out his career in the 76ers uniform. With Harden’s arrival, we’ve seen the immediate improvement and offensive explosion from the second-year guard, Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey has seen his minutes go up by twenty per game to 35.8, and with it, his scoring has improved from 8.0 points per game during his rookie season to 17.3 this year. Where Maxey has really come into his own, with the help of Harden, is his shooting. He’s currently shooting 48.1% from the floor and 41.0% on three-point attempts. He’s shown that he is every bit of the up-and-coming star that Beal would replace in the lineup. He’s also just 21 years old and coming into his own. With Harden on the team, for at least the next few years, Maxey can only improve. Learning from an all-time great, and he’s already considered one of the hardest workers on the team.
The 76ers don’t need Bradley Beal at this point. They already have a younger, more explosive, and potentially better player in Maxey. Combined with players like Furkan Korkmaz, who has two years remaining on his team-friendly contract, and Shake Milton, the Sixers have a good group of guards to continue to chase an NBA Championship.
While Beal is a star, in his own right, he’s not the answer. The Philadelphia 76ers are the worst rebounding team in the league, and if you take away Joel Embiid, their frontcourt leaves a lot to be desired. Tobias Harris is averaging 17.9 points per game but has really struggled to find a place with the new-look Philadelphia 76ers since Harden’s arrival. Danny Green and Georges Niang haven’t helped the frontcourt and Paul Millsap, acquired in the Harden deal, isn’t any better. The hope for Philadelphia is that Paul Reed would be able to fill some minutes and help bolster the frontcourt, except Reed doesn’t see the floor. What the Sixers need is to give center Joel Embiid real help in the frontcourt.
This off-season, the 76ers could still look to unload Harris’ contract, but there are a few other players out there that would truly help the Sixers. An old favorite, Robert Covington is set to be a free agent, and he’s always welcome in Philly. You also have names like Taurean Prince (Minnesota), Chris Boucher (Toronto), and Montrezl Harrell (Charlotte) that should all be available. Prince would give you reserve minutes, but Boucher and Harrell, still both under 30 years old, would give you size, some scoring, and a large amount of rebounding when paired with Embiid.
While the name alone, Bradley Beal, is enough to get fans excited for his supposed desire to play for Philly, his fit isn’t something that really works with the team after bringing in Harden. The team got their star in Harden and immediately realized that they picked up two in the deal, as Maxey has taken off under the guidance of Harden. The 76ers would be wise to move on from the idea of bringing in another guard and focus on the things that help win championships, like rebounding and defense.
The dream of pairing Beal with Harden and Embiid is something that fans need to wake up from and look at the reality that Beal isn’t needed in Philly for them to win a championship.
