Chris Miller shares his thoughts on reports that Bradley Beal is considering requesting a trade out of Washington, and how important his friendship with Jayson Tatum is to him when deciding where he wants to play next.
It may be time to pump the brakes on the Bradley Beal trade rumors.
Contrary to a report from earlier this week that stated Beal is considering a trade request, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Thursday the All-Star guard "has no desire" to leave the Washington Wizards. The news comes shortly after the Wizards traded Russell Westbrook, a 2024 second-round draft pick and a 2028 second-rounder to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
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More from Charania:
"The question now around the league is, 'How does this impact the future of Bradley Beal in Washington?'" Charania said. "Sources tell me Beal right now has no desire to leave the Wizards and Washington now has the ability to continue to build the right way around Beal in terms of having rotation players, finding financial flexibiliy to make moves down the road, as well as draft capital for the next several years. And so, Beal will be able to sign the five-year, $235 million max contract in Washington next summer, and that could be on the horizon for him."
The Celtics have been considered a potential landing spot for Beal, whose longtime friendship with C's star Jayson Tatum helped to spark Beal-to-Boston rumors. It appears the 28-year-old will stay put barring any surprises, but a deal certainly still could still be made during what should be an eventful NBA Draft on Thursday night.
