There’s been a lot of rumors flowing around suggesting that the Washington Wizards might be open to trading All-Star guard Bradley Beal.
On the surface, this makes a ton of sense. Fellow guard John Wall is likely set to miss the entire 2019-20 season with an Achilles injury. Washington should be in full-scale rebuild mode.
Though, the team’s brass continues to push back against this. According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, the Wizards have no intention of trading Beal.
That could merely be a PR ploy to up Beal’s trade value heading into Thursday night’s NBA Draft.
Those selecting at the top of the annual event are said to be interested in the two-guard.
That includes a New Orleans Pelicans team with two of the first four picks. They are said to be interested in dealing the No. 4 selection acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in the Anthony Davis trade.
Another report earlier this week indicated that Washington was prepared to offer Beal a ridiculous three-year extension. He’s unlikely to take that. Instead, the star guard would likely play out the final two years of his contract and hit free agency.
Beal, 25, put up a career-best 2018-19 campaign with Wall sidelined. He averaged 25.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting at a 48 percent clip from the field.
Regardless of what the Wizards might say publicly, it’s obvious they would have to be blown away in order to trade a player of this caliber.