WASHINGTON — The Wizards are prepared to commit to Bradley Beal long term.
The $111 million question is will Beal commit to the Wizards?
Fresh off his promotion to general manager, Tommy Sheppard told ESPN that he will offer Beal the maximum extension on Friday.
"At the very first moment allowed, we are going to offer Brad the full max extension," the Wizards GM told ESPN.
The offer does have an expiration date.
Beal has until October 21, to sign the extension.
The deal would not kick in until the 2021-22 season.
On Monday, Tommy Sheppard was introduced as the Wizards general manager as part of a restructuring of management for the newly formed Monumental Basketball group.
When asked about his, and the team's, commitment to Bradley Beal, the Wizards GM doubled down on Beal.
"Bradley is the cornerstone of everything we've ever done here," says Sheppard. "Since he's come into the league with us he's a 2-time All-Star, he's performed at a very high level, and he's a high character person, the hardest working player we have. I think that's someone we always want to pay homage to."
For owner Ted Leonsis, the money in a max deal for Bradley Beal is not an obstacle.
"We figured today that between the Capitals, Wizards, G-League, WNBA, and NBA2K, that I'm spending over a quarter billion dollars a year in player payroll," says Leonsis. "Anything that we can do for our players to get more productivity out of them, keep them happier, and to have a better record we should do. So I don't give thought to how much we're paying them. What I want to be able to do is create an environment where they want to stay here."
On Friday, they will show that they want Bradley Beal to remain a Wizard for the long term.
Now the ball is in Beal's court to see if this is where he wants to be.