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Bradley Beal Talks Offseason, Contract Extension And ‘Beat The Heat’ Program

By Gerald Bourguet

Jul. 2, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Wizard's guard Bradley Beal delivers a special presentation about heat safety and hydration to youth athletes on behalf of Gatorade's Beat the Heat program. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry/Gatorade
Jul. 2, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Wizard's guard Bradley Beal delivers a special presentation about heat safety and hydration to youth athletes on behalf of Gatorade's Beat the Heat program. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry/Gatorade /
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After a second-round playoff defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks, Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards will be looking to make an even deeper postseason run in 2015-16.

But with the NBA’s free agency period just kicking off and training camp still months away, Beal is spending the first part of his July working with Gatorade‘s Beat The Heat program to raise awareness among athletes, coaches and parents about the importance of proper hydration during the hotter summer months.

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“Especially during the summer when kids and athletes participate in sports more than probably any other time, this is when training really begins and happens,” he told HoopsHabit’s Gerald Bourguet in a phone interview Thursday. “You know, the summers are brutal with the weather and the heat, so it’s always important to hydrate.”

At Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis, Beal became the first NBA player to participate in the program’s 11-year history, taking campers indoors and teaching them how to “beat the heat.”

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“In my camp I’m teaching these kids the importance of it and how you lose more than just water in your body when you sweat, and how a lack of hydration can cause injuries, can cause people to pass out and all these other things that you don’t want to happen,” he said. “So as much as possible, it’s always important to get this message out to kids and athletes in general that it’s important to stay hydrated whether it’s indoors or outdoors.”

Coming off another strong season in which he averaged 15.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game on nearly 41 percent shooting from three-point range, injuries were a significant factor in the slight dip in Beal’s offensive production in his third year. Beal missed 19 games due to a variety of ailments, including a wrist injury, a toe injury and various ankle problems.

In their playoff series against Atlanta, however, Beal once again came to life as what NBA Twitter affectionately referred to as “PLAYOFF BEAL,” averaging 23.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

However, the Wizards were unable to advance despite Beal’s strong play and an inspiring mid-series return from a one-armed John Wall. Wall played at half strength in three of the series’ six games, while Beal had to exit the fourth quarter of Game 1 and play hobbled for the rest of the way thanks to an aggravated ankle.

For a guy who’s had his fare share of injuries, this budding star — who just turned 22 a few days ago — is hoping he can put all that behind him in his fourth season.

“That’s probably the most frustrating thing ever — the fact that you can’t control an injury,” he said. “It happened, but we can’t make an excuse either, because at that point everybody has an injury of some sort so it’s a matter of who wants it the most. My biggest goal heading into the offseason is to stay healthy more than anything and finally play an 82-game season.”

The Wizards head into the 2015-16 season with their young core of Wall, Beal and Otto Porter Jr. locked in. But with Paul Pierce‘s recent decision to head back to Los Angeles to play for the Clippers and reunite with Doc Rivers, Washington will need their other small forwards to fill the void of the man who brought veteran leadership, game-winners and plenty of swagger.

“”You know, it’s sad, but you have to live with it, you can’t get it back,” Beal said. “What’s done is done, we just have to move forward. We know he was a great asset to our team, I loved playing with him. He’s a future Hall of Famer and he’s a great player man and a great mentor overall.

“It’s sad to see him go but at the same time we have to respect him and respect his decision and his family. Basketball is basketball, but you know, that’s his hometown and he’s toward the end of his career so I guess it all made sense. I wish him nothing but the best at the end of the day.”

Despite the Truth’s departure, Washington seems poised to absorb the blow of Pierce’s departure, both for the short-term and the long-term. In the 2015 NBA Draft, the Wizards executed a draft-day trade with the Hawks to bring in Kelly Oubre Jr., a 19-year-old small forward out of Kansas who is a bit of a project, but could become an elite 3-and-D player with the right development.

The Wizards will also benefit from the return of Martell Webster, who missed 50 games and all but four minutes of the playoffs last season due to surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. Finally, mere hours after Beal’s interview with HoopsHabit, the Wizards executed a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks to bring in veteran swingman Jared Dudley.

Most important of all, however, was the development of Porter, especially when he broke through during the playoffs, averaging 10.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 37.5 percent three-point shooting. Beal believes that one year of playing alongside Pierce, one of the all-time great playoff performers, taught him and his teammates quite a bit.

Bradley Beal
Jul. 2, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal delivers a special presentation about heat safety and hydration to youth athletes on behalf of Gatorade’s Beat the Heat program. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry/Gatorade /

“I think Otto has definitely grown, I think all of us have grown,” he said. “We’re still a young team and we still have huge goals that we want to accomplish, and they’re all possible as long as we do whatever it takes to get it done. We’re expecting a lot out of Otto next year and we know Martell’s gonna be back healthy, and we just drafted Kelly Oubre as well, so we’re looking forward to all three of those wings being able to come in and give us everything that we need.”

Beal, who shares the same trainer with Oubre, said he hasn’t worked out with him yet, but that their paths would eventually cross at some point during the offseason.

Another person who will come back into Beal’s orbit next season, although to a much more minimal degree, is former Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan. Beal played under Donovan during the 2011-12 season at Florida, earning first team All-SEC honors and eventually becoming the third pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Beal was among the first to predict that Donovan, the new head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, would make the transition to the NBA after building up quite a resume with the Gators.

“I think it’ll be an adjustment, but it’s one that — you know, he always accepts a challenge,” Beal said. “I think that’s what I love the most about coach Donovan is he never backs down from anything or anyone and he wants the best out of all his players.

“I think he’ll definitely do well, he has the style for the NBA and he always wanted to be here so hopefully he can take advantage of it and he’s in a great city with two of the best players in the world. So I think he’ll definitely have a great opportunity to be able to step in and make a huge impact.”

Before Beal reunites with his old head coach whenever the Wizards play the Thunder for the first time this season, he and his agent will deal with the less enjoyable side of the NBA world: discussing out a contract extension with the front office.

Heading into his fourth season, Beal is eligible for a four-year extension that would kick in for the 2016-17 season and pay him up to 25 percent of the salary cap for that season, which is projected to be about $89 million. Such an extension would start at around $21 million in the first year, per Grantland’s Zach Lowe, carving out a considerable bit of cap space for a team that will be trying to woo Kevin Durant next summer with a max deal.

However, for the time being, Beal said he’s not looking around the rest of the league or worrying about contract extension talks, focusing instead on the Beat The Heat initiative and enjoying his summer.

“I’ll just focus [on that] when it comes, I let my agent handle all that and I’ve got a lot of stuff to do on this end anyway,” he said. “I’m just trying to deal with my summer right now before I start getting back to work and working out as well. So I’ll let him handle all that and when the time comes, we’ll sit down and make the right decision based on what we think is best for me and my family.”

Next: NBA: The Biggest Winners And Losers Of Free Agency Day 1

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