Bradley Beal had hinted around last season that he would be looking for the Washington Wizards to give him a max extension for next summer.

News broke today from CSN Washington’s J.Michael that contract negotiations haven’t really changed since they began this summer.

“The Wizards and Bradley Beal don’t appear to be any closer to reaching terms on an extension — the window is open until the start of the 2015-16 regular season — with both sides downplaying to CSNwashington.com during the past few weeks about the progress of talks. The good thing for them, of course, is that they haven’t shut down negotiations.” (h/t NBC Sports)

The question that comes to mind is whether or not Beal is worth the max extension that he is asking for. By taking a broad look at the situation, he is a very important part of this team now and for the future, so why wouldn’t the Washington Wizards give him the deal he wants?

The fact of the matter is, Beal has been dealing with injuries ever since the Wizards drafted him.

He played 56 games his rookie season before having to sit out the final month of the year with a stress injury to his right leg.

He was able to follow-up his rookie season by playing in 73 games averaging his career-high in points at 17.1 per game, which ultimately helped boost the Wizards to a playoff appearance.

To the majority of Wizards’ fans, there were very high expectations coming into Beal’s third year in the league to take on a bigger role next to John Wall in the back court and continue to improve his scoring averages.

But last season wasn’t what Beal planned.

He underwent surgery on his left wrist in early October to repair a non-displaced fracture that kept him out until mid November. When he made his return, continued to be a dependable scorer at shooting guard averaging 14.3 points heading into February.

On Feb. 5, the injury bug bit Beal again as he suffered both a toe injury and a mild stress reaction to the leg that he injured his rookie season. Although he only missed eight games, you could tell Beal wasn’t quite 100 percent throughout the end of the regular season.

In the playoffs, Beal averaged 23 points per game including a 34-point game performance in Eastern Conference Semifinals.

In Game 1, Beal suffered a sprained ankle to add to the list of the lingering injuries he had been dealing with.

The Washington Wizards should find a way to use Beal injury-prone career thus far to their advantage in contract negotiations.

Do the Wizards need Beal to continue to grow as a contender in the East? Without a doubt, but they also need to use their cap wisely keeping not only Kevin Durant in mind, but also other available free agents to give them a realistic shot at winning a championship.

If they give Beal the max extension and sign Durant, this leaves the Wizards little to no wiggle room and really the only hopes would be to get ring chasing veterans to sign for minimum contracts. That won’t work today in the NBA, so something has to give.

There will be more to follow dealing with Beal’s contract talks here on WizofAwes.

Is Bradley Beal Worth The Max Extension? Yes, he deserves the contract

No, he's injured too often View Results