We’re 18 months removed from Bradley Beal declaring once again that he and Washington Wizards teammate John Wall are “the best backcourt in the league.” It was a year ago that Wall said LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were afraid to face them in the playoffs. They were fresh off pushing the Boston Celtics to seven games in the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinals. Wall was a 26-year-old All-Star then, Beal a 23-year-old on his way to being one, and they should have had the East by the you-know-whats once LeBron left for the Los Angeles Lakers. Austin Rivers certainly agreed.

Except, every time it came time to walk the walk, they never stopped talking long enough to realize the league lapped them, culminating in Monday’s news that the Wizards are prepared to mercifully blow up their overpaid and underachieving roster following a “verbal barrage” at a “volatile practice.”

There is no greater metaphor for these Wizards than this, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski: coach Scott Brooks asked his team to respond to a 5-11 start with an intense practice, and the All-Star point guard responded, “F— you,” warranting a fine. As Beal told Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld at practice, “I’ve been dealing with this s— for seven years,” per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

We knew there was discontent in Washington. Wall and Beal have openly discussed their “tendency to dislike each other on the court.” Wall took offense when in his absence the Beal-led Wizards found success feeding each other last season. Together, Wall and Beal ironically called out the rest of their teammates for having their own “agendas” this year. And this recent practice appears to be the final straw, with Grunfeld reportedly prepared to trade anyone and everyone on the roster, NBA willing.

So, what now? The Wizards have their choice of five doors, none of which may lead anywhere.

Door No. 1: Build around Wall and Beal

Shockingly, this is the route Grunfeld prefers, according to Wojnarowski, which is just astounding.

The Wizards set their ceiling in 2014, reaching the second round of the playoffs, touched it three times in four years, and then had it cave in on them. They lost to the Toronto Raptors in the first round this past spring before slogging their way to five wins in their first 16 games this fall. Their two stars have all but declared war on each other, lobbing verbal grenades in the locker room for half a decade now.

There may have been a time to salvage the Wall-Beal relationship, but Grunfeld wasted it, burning cap space in 2016 on Ian Mahinmi’s $64 million contract and spending draft picks to rent Bojan Bogdanovic in 2017 — to name two examples. In the five years after selecting Beal third in 2012, the Wizards owned only two of their own draft picks, and opposing teams reportedly aren’t willing to trade for either one, because Otto Porter Jr. is owed $82 million through 2021 and Kelly Oubre Jr. has stagnated entering free agency.

On talent alone, Porter is Washington’s most attractive trade asset. Over the previous two seasons, he was everything you would want from a 3-and-D wing — long and athletic, capable of defending multiple positions, and shooting 44 percent on more than four 3-point attempts per game. He should be the perfect complement to an All-Star backcourt, which is why the Wizards felt compelled to match the Brooklyn Nets’ max contract offer to the 2017 restricted free agent. That Porter has not expanded his role since is why any team would be hesitant to acquire the three remaining years on his deal.

The Wizards may actually be able to use the failed Wall-Beal tandem to their advantage here, trying to convince would-be suitors that their toxic relationship has poisoned Porter’s progress and a change of scenery would do wonders for the 25-year-old. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported that “there are whispers” the New Orleans Pelicans may be interested in Porter for a presumed package of Julius Randle, Solomon Hill and a first-round pick. He would be a fascinating fit alongside Anthony Davis.

Except, I’m not sure that does anything to elevate Washington’s ceiling, nor do any of the other deals that might make sense from another team’s perspective. He would be useful for the Houston Rockets or San Antonio Spurs, but neither team is going to offer anything more than Plus Player X, Salary Filler Y and Pick Z. The Sacramento Kings are always game to make a dreadful deal, but even they probably wouldn’t part with a burgeoning young player like Contract Year Willie Cauley-Stein for Porter.

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