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Nearly every reigning All-NBA player is locked into his contract through at least 2023. The exceptions: Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal. Irving and the Nets have unique issues. Brooklyn pulled Irving’s max-extension offer. The Wizards, on the other hand, would love Beal to accept his standing largest-allowable-extension offer rather than become a highly coveted free agent next summer. But he’s not rushing to do so. Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington:
Michael Jordan has owned a number of professional sports teams over the years. Currently the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets and the co-owner of the NASCAR Cup Series team, 23XI Racing, Jordan first tried his hand at ownership back in January 2000 when he famously bought a 10% stake in the Washington Wizards, which he gave up when he unretired to join the team as a player. But what some may not remember is that when MJ bought into the Wizards, he also became a part-owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. Michael Jordan bought 10% of the Wizards in January 2000Michael Jordan | Elsa/Getty ImagesRELATED: Michael Jordan Told Dale Earnhardt Jr. He Wanted No Part of Owning a NASCAR Team Before Starting 23XI Racing, Which Actually Began as a Joke Following the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-1998 “Last Dance” season that resulted in the franchise’s sixth NBA title, Michael Jordan officially retired from the NBA for a second time on January 13, 1999, saying he was 99% sure he’d never return to the league as a player. Just over one year later, on January 19, 2000, Jordan did return to the league but as a minority owner of the Washington Wizards, also taking on the role of president of basketball operations. Per his deal with Lincoln Holdings (which merged with Washington Sports and Entertainment in 2010 to form Monumental Sports & Entertainment), Jordan received a 10% stake in the Wizards that could have eventually grown into a 20% stake. Michael Jordan also owned 12% of the Washington CapitalsIn addition to owning 10% of the Wizards, Michael Jordan’s deal with Lincoln Holdings also gave him a 12% stake in the Washington Capitals. As Jordan obviously had a lot of responsibilities with the Wizards, he wasn’t overly involved with making many decisions in regards to the Capitals but that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in his team. He attended games when he could and would occasionally meet with the players, who apparently got fired up when he would come to the locker room, as Caps minority owner and executive Dick Patrick once told ESPN.
But Jordan’s days as an owner, at least those first ones, obviously didn’t last long. MJ gave up ownership of the Wizards and Capitals to return to the NBA as a playerRELATED: Michael Jordan Had Issues Coming Back to Chicago to Play Against the Bulls With the Washington Wizards On September 25, 2001, it was announced that Michael Jordan had signed a two-year deal to suit up for the Washington Wizards as a player, which, of course, meant he had to give up his ownership stakes with the Wizards and Capitals as it was part of a package deal. Oddly enough, it was a hockey legend-turned-owner who inspired Jordan’s comeback, that being Mario Lemieux, who’d retired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1997, bought a stake in the team in 1999, and then returned to the ice in 2000. Jordan saw his good friend play well, started training, and decided to give it one more go. Of course, we all know Michael Jordan’s time with the Wizards didn’t end well. Once his two seasons were up, he thought he’d at least return to the front office but was fired instead.
The Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal finally came together and agreed on a max extension. Beal signed a five-year, $251 million extension with a player option for the fifth year. The contract is the second largest in NBA history. Clearly, the Wizards were willing to do whatever it took to lock up their superstar guard. That included give him an absolute no-trade clause in the contract. He is the only active player in the NBA with one and only the 10th player in NBA history. Friday morning, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis addressed the media regarding the relationship with Beal and the reason for including the n0-trade clause.
Leonsis talked about rewarding a player’s loyalty and using that to show other players that Washington is a good place to play. He also detailed the status of the relationship between the Wizards and Beal, with trade talk and rumors swirling.
The Wizards owner would go on to discuss how the franchise did not view the no-trade clause as a point of leverage. Instead, he referred to it as a “point of partnership.” Beal is coming off of an injury plagued 2021-2022 season where he only played 40 games. His production took a huge hit as well, as his scoring averaged dropped more than seven points per game last season. Yet, he is still considered to be one of the best pure scorers in basketball. It appears both Beal and the Wizards are in a good place and he will be there for a long time. Subscribe to notifications Your'e subscribed to notifications |