Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal trade would be puzzling move

Bradley Beal has been a desired trade target for several opposing NBA teams, but should the Washington Wizards even consider trading him away?

The Washington Wizards have faced a plethora of trade offers for two-time All-Star Bradley Beal over the past few seasons as he has been one of the hottest commodities in the league. However, again and again the team has turned down offers for the shooting guard, but other organizations have continued calling regardless.

Beal had a career year this season, having averaged 30.5 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.2 points per game, somehow snubbed from the All-Star game. Regardless, Beal’s efforts were not enough to elevate Washington into postseason contention for the second straight year, having landed in the 9-seed.

Because of this lack of team success that has spanned over the past few seasons, many believed Beal could soon become frustrated with the organization and want a fresh start elsewhere. However, it has appeared that is not the case.

While every team would have loved to add Beal to their roster this season or in the future, the odds of it happening are very unlikely at the moment. Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, stated that his client has no desire to get traded anytime soon, Per Adam Zagoria of Forbes.

"“There are no Beal Sweepstakes and that’s why he re-signed with the Wizards,” Mark Bartelstein said. “Brad re-signed with the Wizards because he wanted to stay in Washington and the Wizards wanted to keep him there.”"

Beal did sign a two-year $72 million extension with the team that will begin at the start of the 2021-22 season, with a player option in the second year. As his agent said, the guard made it clear that he wanted to stay with the team for the long haul, and justifiably so. While these past two seasons have been subpar for the team, there could be a bright future ahead.

Without All-Star guard John Wall, the Wizards have not accumulated much success in recent memory.  However, with Wall’s return potentially looming for the start of next season, the team could have a bounce-back year.

With both John Wall and Bradley Beal in the lineup at full strength, the Washington Wizards could be an upper-tier contender in the Eastern Conference. Just a few seasons ago in the 2017 Playoffs, the last season Wall was fully healthy, the Wizards were a 4-seed with home-court advantage in the East.

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Trading away Beal before Wall comes back could prove to be a significant mistake, as this team could still be salvaged back to something promising.

This offseason could prove crucial for the Wizards as with Wall potentially coming back from his injuries next season, they could be right back in contention from the very beginning of the 2020-21 season. Re-signing Davis Bertans should be the team’s top priority, as he complimented Beal well with a career year of his own, but the team should scour the marker for other pieces as well.

Free agents such as Danilo Gallinari or Marcus Morris Sr. will get pursued this offseason heavily, whenever that is, two players the Wizards should make a run at to bolster their roster. With a healthy core, Washington could once again become contenders and should look to add pieces rather than trade away arguably their best player.

If Washington is all-in on Bradley Beal, many have also speculated that the only way he could get out of Washington would be through a trade request, but even that seems incredibly unlikely. In an interview with Marc Spears of The Undefeated, Beal discussed the type of legacy he wants to leave behind with the team.

"“Wanting to have my jersey retired in Washington one day played a factor in me re-signing. Every night we walk into that arena, there’s five names up there. Those are some of the five greatest to ever touch a basketball. To be on pace to breaking the records that I am now and be here for eight years already, that’s special. And coming into the prime of my career, you don’t know how much longer you have.For me, I look at Kobe, I look at D-Wade [Dwyane Wade], I look at Dirk [Nowitzki], U.D. [Udonis Haslem], how they can stay in one situation for a long time.I hate change. If it happens, it happens. But if I can control it, I will finish in D.C.”"

Clearly demonstrated from that quote, Beal is all-in on the Wizards, despite being shrouded in trade rumors for several years now. The feeling should undoubtedly be mutual from Washington’s perspective, and this pairing could last for the next decade or so.

With a healthy John Wall coming back next season, the potential to make a few roster upgrades, and most importantly, Beal’s desire to stay with the team long-term, there is no reason that the Wizards should even be picking up the phone when teams call.

Would the  Washington Wizards genuinely consider trading away Beal if he has publicly stated he wants to retire there and have a chance to be contenders next season? Likely not, which has made it unlikely Bradley Beal will be moved this offseason or any in the near future.