At least 10 players from the Washington Wizards roster are considering their options during the current NBA offseason.
ESPN previously revealed that shooting guard/small forward Alan Anderson, restricted shooting guard Bradley Beal, small forward Jared Dudley, center JJ Hickson, power forward Nene Hilario, guard Ramon Sessions, point guard Garrett Temple and shooting guard Marcus Thornton will enter the free-agent market this summer. Center Drew Gooden and small forward Jarell Eddie are also expected to join the team's free agent list before July 15.
But while there is little information about the fate of the Wizards' free agents, trade rumors claim that Beal will be involved with the team's deal with Philadelphia 76ers' center Jahlil Okafor.
ESPN's Chad Ford speculated that Beal could take the deal with the 76ers.
"Beal isn't exactly married to the Wizards and will be looking for a big payday as this summer's best available young shooting guard -- and the Sixers have the cap space to overpay him," the sports analyst told MSN's Jake O'Donnell.
He also revealed that the Wizards and the 76ers will also benefit from the sign-and-trade deal, since the Wizards will need to improve their post scoring with Okafor's 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds average last season, while the 76ers will finally acquire the free agent that they have been aiming for during the past offseasons.
Meanwhile, ESPN noted that Gooden's expected asking salary of $3.54 million could be too much for the team since he only made 30 appearances with an average of 10.2 minutes, 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds last season. Eddie's salary cap of $980,431, on the other hand, may not be that much. But choosing to waive him will allow the team to have more salary cap room. This could mean that the team must carefully weigh all their options regarding their free agents.
