Bradley Beal knows that he is the subject of constant trade rumors but according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Fred Katz, the Wizards guard is “frustrated and confused” by the endless speculation as he remains steadfast in wanting to remain in Washington.
For nearly a year, Beal has shut down any rumors about him wanting out of Washington, repeatedly saying that he wants to stay with the Wizards. And that desire appears to be mutual, as Charania and Katz wrote that the Wizards are uninterested in trading Beal, as the team believes they’re “building something in Washington around Beal.”
So if both the Wizards and Beal are on the same page, then why is everyone incessantly talking about where and when Beal will be traded? Because despite leading the league in scoring, Beal has been unable to keep Washington from the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. The 4-12 Wizards currently hold the worst record in the league, and without some serious help, even Beal’s best efforts don’t appear to be enough to turn things around.
And in the modern NBA, we have been conditioned to believe that if a star isn’t winning, they will inevitably force a trade in order to get into a better situation. But Beal doesn’t seem interested in following the traditional trajectory of NBA stardom, as he appears to be committed to turning the Wizards into a winning franchise, no matter how long it takes. And that’s good for Washington because as things look right now, returning to relevance is going to take a very long time.
