Wall and Beal will help the Wizards recruit free agents originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard plans to use every resource he has at his disposal to improve the team's roster this offseason and that is going to include help from his star backcourt.
Sheppard said John Wall and Bradley Beal can assist in a variety of ways. For one, they can help recruit free agents.
In the past, Beal has been more open about playing the role as free agent recruiter. Wall hasn't been quite as inclined to go that route, though he did notably help bring Dwight Howard to Washington in the summer of 2018.
It sounds like this offseason it is all hands on deck.
"They will be involved in pitches that we make to other possible free agents," Sheppard said.
Sheppard added that Wall and Beal have already been helping the team's cause with soon-to-be free agent Davis Bertans, whom Sheppard has made it known he wants to re-sign. Bertans is set to hit unrestricted free agency and will garner interest from teams with plenty of cap room to spare.
The Wizards, though, have his Bird Rights, so they can exceed the salary cap with his new contract. And they are intent on getting a deal done.
"They've been active in making sure Davis [Bertans] knows this is the best place for him," Sheppard said.
Talking directly to Bertans and possible free agent targets isn't the only way Wall and Beal can help, and the same goes for others on the Wizards roster. If Sheppard sees a past connection between one of his team's players and a possible free agent or trade target, the Wizards player can give him the lowdown on things like work ethic and character.
"We take all the intel we can get," Sheppard said. "Players are very good about a lot of the background stuff we need to know about before we make a decision on somebody."
Much has been made about how players are different in this era, how they are more likely to be friends with their opponents than in the past. Clearly, Sheppard feels that can be used to the Wizards' advantage.
