Even with the team is on the verge of trading Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal reportedly has “no desire” to leave the Washington Wizards.
The night of the 2021 NBA Draft was an important and stressful day for Washington Wizards fans, as reports indicated that guard Bradley Beal would reveal whether he wanted to stay with the organization or demand a trade elsewhere. The fanbase began assuming it would be the latter following reports of the team being in negotiations to trade Beal’s teammate Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, that does not appear to be the case.
Sources have told Stadium’s Shams Charania that Beal has “no desire to leave the Wizards” following the Westbrook trade.
Bradley Beal reportedly has no desire to leave the Wizards
As Charania points out in the video above, trading Westbrook allowed the Wizards to have financial flexibility to make moves down the road and to build draft capital in the future. All of that is meant to build around Beal as the team’s centerpiece. Perhaps most importantly, Beal would be allowed to sign a max contract next summer, which would come in at $235 million over five years.
Leading up to the NBA Draft, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report indicated that he knew he had to make a decision regarding his future right before the event. While he has been loyal to the Wizards organization, there was a source who told Fischer that the situation was “fluid.” As it turns out, the former was true and Beal wants to stay with the Wizards.
Beal’s stellar play helped the Wizards clinch their first playoff berth since 2018. Through 60 regular-season games, Beal averaged a career-high 31.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting a career-best 48.5 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from the 3-point line.
Wizards fans, you may be losing Westbrook to the Lakers, but you can at least take solace in the fact that Beal is going nowhere.