

WASHINGTON – John Wall has been in the place where Bradley Beal currently resides. Rewarded a maximum contract following an injury-plagued season and before making his first All-Star team, Wall can relate to Beal getting paid more for potential and promise over actual production.

But as he sat down recently with his backcourt mate – with a résumé that now includes three All-Star appearances and two second-round postseason runs – Wall and the Washington Wizards both feel vindicated that the five-year, $86 million extension he signed in the summer of 2013 now looks like a bargain under the current salary structure. So, as Beal is set to start the first year of a five-year, $128-million pact signed last July, Wall asks for those looking for reasons to pan the deal to just chill.

“He had injuries the last couple of years and they’re like, ‘He don’t deserve it.’ Let him get a chance to earn it,” Wall told The Vertical. “Let him be an All-Star. Let him see if he can be healthy for a whole season and see what he can do. … I want him to be an All-Star, just like I am. It’s no fun when it’s just one guy. If another guy is there, it makes it more fun.”

Wall’s plea to give Beal some room to grow is evidence of the respect both players have for each other. Wall and Beal aren’t the best of friends nor the worst of enemies, although their willingness last summer to publicly admit that they don’t always see eye-to-eye on the court led to speculation that the union was too tenuous to survive.

When the story of their dissension hit, Beal said he and Wall were actually working out with other members of the Wizards during an unofficial mini-camp in Los Angeles. Both were amused by a situation that they believe was exaggerated. As young players both trying to establish themselves, they have had differences and “dislikes,” as Wall likes to say. They have argued. But they aren’t constantly at each other’s throats and have been able to co-exist – the duo is responsible for leading the Wizards franchise to back-to-back trips to the conference semifinals from 2013-15 for the first time since 1979.

Bradley Beal and John Wall are determined to make the All-Star team together. (AP) More

“This is my brother at the end of the day,” Beal told The Vertical. “Nothing is going to change. If I didn’t want to be here, if we did beef, I wouldn’t have signed my contract. That’s what it ultimately comes down to.”

“And I wouldn’t have begged him to come back,” Wall interjected. “I would’ve been, ‘Don’t come back because in two years, I ain’t coming back.’ We would’ve figured something out. … I think everybody blew it out of proportion for no reason. I mean, if you look at any two great teammates, and two young, great guys, that’s talented and want to be great, you’re going to have ups and downs. Everything is not going to be perfect.”

Garrett Temple, a veteran point guard with the Sacramento Kings, played alongside Wall and Beal through their first four years together and believes the relationship between the Wizards’ two stars has improved from an early tug-of-war as both players have matured. Last season, the trio shared several dinners on the road, which Temple said helped strengthen the connection.

“Honestly, two young guys coming into their own in the league, with a young franchise that’s trying to win, you’re going to have moments where there is a power struggle,” Temple told The Vertical. “But that’s a good thing. That means you have two guys [who are] trying to be the best at what they do and trying to be leaders. But in a family situation, you’re never going to have everybody sing, ‘Kumbaya.’ If that’s the case, then you’re not going to win any games. But I think they understand each other and they understand that they need each other in order to be successful.”

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