How to feel about the Bradley Beal deal

The Bradley Beal trade — which is still yet to be finalized — is a seismic one for several reasons.

First, it finally sets the Wizards on a course of not shooting for the back half of the playoff picture, and instead admitting that they need to pursue a different path to contention than the one that hasn’t worked for the better part of the last five or so decades.

Second, it consolidates more top-end talent onto one team, with Beal joining Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in Phoenix.

And third, it’s the first significant transaction made since the league and the players association agreed on a new CBA, which is also somehow still yet to be officially finalized. (It’s been agreed to and term sheets are floating around but the teams have yet to actually receive the document that specifically lays out all of the rules.)

Annoyingly, that last point may actually be the most important one.