Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal dropped a bit of a nugget Monday. He revealed how he almost was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2012 NBA Draft for James Harden. That’s right, before Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets, there was a proposed trade involving Harden, Beal and the Wizards.
Appearing on Showtime’s All The Smoke, Beal recounted his agent notifying him he could end up with the Thunder on draft night because of a proposed trade.
However, this is hardly news, at least not with Thunder and Wizards fans. In fact, the cat was let out of the bag back in 2012.
Details of the Proposed Trade Were Revealed in 2012
Michael Lee (now of the Athletic) broke the news in December 2012 while he was at the Washington Post. Lee reported that Wizards owner Ted Leonsis turned down the trade offer. Leonsis did not want to commit to the five-year, $80 million max extension Harden was seeking.
The Washington Wizards turned down a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder for James Harden this summer because team owner Ted Leonsis was unwilling to commit to what would have been a roughly $80 million, five-year contract for the high-scoring player, according to multiple people with knowledge of the proposed deal.
The Wizards would have sent rookie guard Bradley Beal and second-year forward Chris Singleton to the Thunder in return for Harden, winner of the NBA’s sixth-man award with Oklahoma City last season, according to these individuals, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the proposal.
Michael Lee/ The Washington Post
It’s been rumored Leonsis didn’t want the trade because acquiring Harden and his extension would have subjected the Wizards to the league’s luxury tax.
Beal stated his agent and he had the conversation draft night. Yet, Lee says the official offer came two months after Washington selected Beal third overall.
Lee cited an NBA executive at the time, said Washington’s decision to hold on to Beal made sense. Teams usually want keep drafted players after they’ve been selected.
Harden Became A Superstar
Harden was coming off being named Sixth Man of the Year in 2012. The Thunder had lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Many pegged OKC as the next up and coming team due to the trio of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Harden. However, Harden and the Thunder couldn’t agree on a contract extension.
On October 27, 2012, the Thunder traded Harden, along with Daequan Cook, Cole Aldrich and Lazar Hayward, in exchange for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two first round picks (which became Steven Adams in 2013 and Mitch McGary in 2014), and a second round pick (which became Álex Abrines in 2013).
Harden agreed to the max extension with the Rockets and he became a franchise player. He has led Houston to the postseason in each of his first seven seasons. He is an eight-time All-Star, five-time first-team All-NBA, two-time scoring champion and the 2018 NBA MVP.
For Oklahoma City, neither Lamb, Adams nor McGary developed into the budding star Beal has become.
Having Beal develop under the wings of Westbrook and Durant could have been interesting, and could have been the missing piece the team needed to return to the NBA Finals.
Beal Became Cornerstone Player for Wizards
After turning down the deal, the Wizards got off to a horrible start to the 2012-13 season, going 5-28. John Wall, first overall pick in 2010, missed the first 33 games of the season due to a stress fracture in his left knee. The Wizards’ patience on Beal paid off as he and Wall led the Wizards to the Eastern Conference semifinals three of the next four seasons.
Both have been cornerstone players for Washington. Beal is now in the prime of his career. This season, Beal is averaging 30.5 points per game. That’s second in the NBA behind ironically James Harden.
The Wizards as a team have struggled to a 24-40 record. That’s thanks in large to Wall missing the entire season with a torn Achilles.
Beal signed a two-year, $72 million extension in October 2019.
Welcome to the Conversation
If the Wizards and Thunder completed the trade, NBA history would have been altered dramatically. Would Harden and Wall worked together? Could OKC got over the hump with Beal, Westbrook and Durant? Would Durant had left Oklahoma City?
What is fact is curious Wizards fans and frustrated Thunder fans have debated the failed proposed trade for nearly eight years. It’s nice to see the rest of the NBA world join in the conversation.
