Bradley Beal hasn’t asked out. There is no trade demand or trade request, not even a timid suggestion, according to sources. But here we are, where the news of the week is an All-NBA talent deciding whether or not to make a decision.
The hazy reality swerves from the usual narrative about Beal. He has insisted for years that he wants to remain with the Wizards, the only organization that’s ever employed him. Deciding if he’ll make a decision, however, leaves daylight.
Beal, a three-time All-Star who can become a free agent after this upcoming season, has spent recent weeks mulling his future and “at times has been very much on the fence about whether or not he wants to remain with the Wizards,” our Shams Charania wrote Sunday, a report that came on the heels of a similar one from Bleacher Report. A verdict on whether or not he will choose to stay with the Wizards could come as soon as this week, sources say. The NBA Draft is Thursday, and any hypothetical Beal trade could be easier to put together before draft night, when suitors could use 2021 picks to acquire him.
If he becomes available, he immediately climbs to the top of the NBA’s hierarchy of stars on the move. He’s finished second in the league in scoring two seasons in a row. He’s only 28 years old. His offense pieces into everything from a ball-dominant role to an off-ball one.
But as of now, he’s not touchable. The Wizards don’t want to shop him, and he hasn’t asked them to do so.
