After Russell Westbrook-for-John Wall blockbuster trade, Wizards have all their eggs in Bradley Beal basket - CBS Sports

In a blockbuster trade -- at least from a name-value standpoint -- that has been circulating the rumor mill for a while now, the Washington Wizards sent John Wall and a protected future first-round pick to the Rockets in exchange for Russell Westbrook on Wednesday, as first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. .

But this trade actually isn't about Westbrook or Wall, who are both on the downslope of their career and are remarkably similar, if not identical, players with roughly the exact same contracts.

No, this trade is about Bradley Beal, who the Wizards are clearly hellbent on keeping and hopefully building around long term. .

In the short term, they believe Westbrook is better than Wall at this stage, and thus gives them a better chance to jump back into the thick of what feels like a relatively open Eastern Conference race.

That isn't to say Beal will have no interest in playing with Westbrook in 2022; it just means the Wizards will need a lot more on the table than that for a guy who is going to have virtually unlimited options. .

The elephant in the room is whether the Wizards should've already traded Beal, or if they should still be looking to do so in the coming year.

If Beal walks on his own in 2022, the Wizards have at least put a lottery protection on their 2023 first-round pick, meaning if they stink in their first year without Beal they'll at least still keep their pick if it falls in the top 14. .

With Westbrook, Beal and the recently signed Davis Bertans on board, would they consider packaging last year's lottery pick, Rui Hachimura, and this year's lottery pick, Deni Avdija, for a shot at a Big 3.

From a fit standpoint, Westbrook goes with Beal far better than he did with James Harden.

They want to keep Beal, and they believe, rightly so, that the only way to do that is to put a winning team on the floor

Westbrook and Wall are similar players, but again, Beal clearly didn't want to play with Wall and there's also the uncertainty of what Wall will even look like coming off a ruptured Achilles

It's a safe bet that Westbrook is a better player than Wall is at this moment.