Bradley Beal has become the most coveted player among NBA trade rumors. However, the star guard is not available. The Washington Wizards have no intentions of trading Beal, general manager Tommy Sheppard confirmed to Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post podcast.
“We’re building this team around Bradley Beal,” Sheppard said. “He’s a tremendous human being. He’s a tremendous player. He’s exactly what we want to have here with the Washington Wizards.”
Sheppard’s comments was his latest attempt to shut down rumors of Beal being traded. Contenders such as the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets have long been rumored to be interested in Beal, despite multiple attempts by the team and Beal to silence the rumors.
Those rumors manifested in large due to Beal’s emergence as a star in the absence of five-time All-Star John Wall. Last season, with Wall out the entire season with a torn Achilles, Beal had a career-season, finishing second in the NBA in scoring with 30.5 points per game. He also averaged 6.1 assists.
Unfortunately Beal’s individual success didn’t lead to team success. The Wizards missed the playoffs for the second straight season with a 25-47 record. The lack of team success possibly caused Beal a third All-Star Game appearance as well as All-NBA consideration.
Still, Beal maintains his commitment to the Wizards. Last month he expressed playing out his career with the team that drafted him third overall in 2012, “would mean the world to me.”
He showed his loyalty signing a two-year, $71.8 million extension last year to add to his current deal, putting him under contract through 2021-22 before his player option for the 2022-23 season..
Wall is set to return full strength at the start of the 2020-21 season, which is slated to begin Dec. 22. The Wizards are banking on the reunion of their dynamic backcourt to revitalize the success the team experienced before Wall’s injury in 2018.
At their peak, Beal and Wall led the Wizards to 49 wins during the 2016-17 season. The Wizards were one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals that year. That nostalgia will help shape the team’s plans this offseason as the team builds around Beal and Wall’s return.
