As Bradley Beal’s future with the Wizards grows increasingly uncertain, the front office is doing everything in its power to convince him to stick around.
According to NBA veteran reporter Marc Stein, via his Substack, several key players have been made available for the Wiz in trade talks and the chances remain slim that Beal will be included in some kind of deadline-day move.
With the deadline fast approaching, numerous Washington players have been described as candidates to be dealt in recent days thanks to the Wizards’ spiral to 11th in the East: Word is Montrezl Harrell, Thomas Bryant and especially struggling offseason addition Spencer Dinwiddie are all available to various degrees. As for the most coveted Wizard, one well-placed source reiterated this week that Bradley Beal remains highly unlikely to be seriously discussed in trade talks in the next six days — unless Beal goes to management and requests to be traded. That, I’m told, hasn’t happened yet. If Beal suddenly reaches that point, perhaps Washington emerges as an 11th-hour trade destination for Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons after repeated assertions from rival teams for weeks that they believe the Sixers are intent on keeping Simmons on their roster beyond the deadline for trade pursuits in the offseason.
For years, Beal has preached loyalty to the Wizards, a franchise that, frankly, hasn’t done much to take advantage of his skills.
After two failed partnerships with John Wall and Russell Westbrook, the Wizards are more dysfunctional than ever. The team has lost 8 of their last 10 games and does not have many ways to get better at the moment.
So don’t be surprised if the Wizards become of the NBA’s biggest buyers ahead of the deadline. Bradley Beal is the only guy keeping the team from total collapse and his patience may be starting to wear thin.
