What It Means:

"It’s tough," Bradley admitted. "We wanna be safe but wanna come back and hoop. We wanna make money but wanna make a statement. There’s so much we’re trying to grab with basketball…It’s tough, man. We signed up to hoop. We signed up to be away from our families. That’s what comes with it." The Wizards only have eight games to make up a 5.5-game deficit in order to make the playoffs, so Beal may decide it's not worth the risk. Beal deciding to opt-out would create enormous opportunities for the entire Wizards' roster. Shabazz Napier is the only other player on the team with a usage rate above 20.0 percent. Ish Smith, Gary Payton II, Troy Brown Jr., and Garrison Matthews would all be set up for extended playing time if Beal doesn't play. There would also be more usage for the likes of Thomas Bryant, Moe Wagner, and Rui Hachimura.

Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the Wizards are tied for having the worst odds (+25000) to win the NBA Championship. Napier has a team-high 25.9 percent usage rate when Beal is off the court this season.