The rumors are flying now that Bradley Beal is open to working with the Washington Wizards to find a trade partner. Beal possesses the NBA’s only no-trade clause.
The Miami Heat have emerged as a favorite to land the three-time All-Star, and the Sacramento Kings have expressed interest in conversations with the Wizards. Yet, one NBA analyst says Beal’s preference could be the “loudest secret” in the league.
“Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum have been the loudest secret ever as far as wanting to play with each other,” Kendrick Perkins proclaimed on ESPN’s NBA Today. “If I’m the Celtics, I’m calling [the Wizards] ASAP and try to get the deal done.”
It’s questionable if Beal and Tatum truly want to play together. But it is known that the two are St. Louis natives. The two are friends and their relationship is well-documented.
Tatum is the face of the Boston Celtics. He’s played alongside Jaylen Brown for the past five years. The pair is dynamic together, but questions have surrounded the two after failing to win an NBA title. In 2022 the Celtics reached the NBA Finals before losing to Golden State. This year, the Celtics got bounced by the 8-seed Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Brown is eligible for a $295 million, five-year supermax extension this summer. Tatum is eligible for a $314 million supermax deal in the summer of 2024. Considering the shortcomings, some pundits have suggested breaking up the Beantown duo.
Beal has four years and $207 million remaining on his supermax deal. Trading Beal for Brown could make sense for the Wizards and Celtics. Boston would get an All-Star player that may fit Tatum better.
The Wizards would get a motivated 26-year-old Brown, coming off an All-NBA year averaging 26.6 points. Despite recent criticism of his game, Brown could be the prime candidate to build a roster around.
Yet for the deal to happen, the Celtics must be interested in Beal and willing to part ways with Brown. Also, it’s unclear if the Wizards view Brown as a centerpiece and be willing to take on his looming supermax extension.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Celtics are not interested in Bradley Beal, as Boston’s main priority is to extend Brown.
Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins played eight of his 14 seasons in the NBA with the Celtics. He has connections to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Windhorst says the Celtics aren’t interested, but one has to imagine if Tatum pushed, the Celtics would at least inquire about Beal.
