That begs the question: If James Harden leaves the Sixers in free agency, should they place a call to the Wizards to see whether Beal would be interested in heading to Philly? After all, Beal and Joel Embiid share the same trainer in Drew Hanlen, and The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said last February that Embiid “was pushing really hard” for the Sixers to acquire Beal instead of Harden ahead of the 2022 NBA trade deadline. Meanwhile, Beal is entering the second year of the five-year, $251.0 million max contract that he signed last offseason-one which notably contains a no-trade clause. Porzingis and Kuzma can become unrestricted free agents this offseason by declining their respective $36.0 million and $13.0 million player options for the 2023-24 campaign. Winger told Robbins that he still hasn’t “crafted the immediate vision for the franchise,” but he conceded that the Wizards likely aren’t “going to be an overnight title contender.” He said if Beal, Porzingis and/or Kuzma “would rather pursue immediate winning, then they probably do have to pursue that somewhere else.” Rival executives expect them to go the latter route under new team president Michael Winger, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The Washington Wizards need to choose whether to continue building around Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma or if it’s finally time to embrace a rebuild. The Sixers aren’t the only NBA team facing a monumental decision this offseason.
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