Beal to undergo season-ending wrist surgery originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Wizards’ season has taken a significant turn for the worse, as star guard Bradley Beal is expected to undergo season-ending surgery on his left wrist, as first reported by ESPN.
NBC Sports Washington confirmed the diagnosis, which was determined on Tuesday when he was re-evaluated following an initial one-week absence. Beal first hurt himself in a game against the Grizzlies on Jan. 29. Beal fell while trying to take a charge under the basket.
“Despite the last 10 days of getting intensive treatment and rehab on my wrist, it became clear that I would not be able to compete to my standards or to the level that our team and our fans deserve,” Beal said via press release. “I’m disappointed to have my season end this way, but we all agreed that this was the best decision. I look forward to coming back at 100% and continuing to lead this team as we work together to build toward the future.”
Beal, 28, was in his 10th NBA season, averaging 23.2 points, 6.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. He appeared in 40 of the Wizards’ 53 games.
Now Beal can look towards an important summer in which he will have the opportunity to opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent. The Wizards offered him a max contract extension in October, which he hasn’t signed. If he waits until the offseason, the offer could go up to a projected $245 million over five years.
With Beal done for the year, and the Wizards having lost eight of their last nine games, one has to think this not only changes their plans ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline but moving forward for the rest of this season as well. They are 11th in the Eastern Conference, outside of the play-in tournament picture. It may be more realistic now to bottom out into the lottery and hope to find another franchise cornerstone to build around.
Beal, meanwhile, will begin the road to recovery and, given his season appears to be over, whether he will play again for the Wizards is a legitimate question.
