For the time being, Bradley Beal is saying all the right things. He wants to remain with the Washington Wizards. He wants to help the franchise turn things around. He wants to be loyal.
That said, there is an expectation among some in the league that eventually Beal will run out of patience.
There is only so long a superstar can sit idly by and watch his prime years get squandered away by inept management.
Assuming Washington can’t turn it around, where would Beal want to end up?
According to Landon Buford of Medium and Forbes, there are five teams currently “at the top” of Beal’s wish list.
“[The New Orleans] Pelicans are on top of the list of Bradley Beal’s desired teams,” he tweeted. “Beal is saying the right things and working with the [front office], in effort to extract maximum value. Beal’s desired teams include the Pelicans, [Dallas] Mavs, [Miami] Heat, [and] the LA teams, per a league source.”
Interestingly enough, Wizards analyst Brendan Haywood did an Instagram Live with Ryan Hollins this past week where both men seemed to question whether Beal would remain in Washington long-term.
View this post on Instagram
“I think Bradley Beal is committed to the Wizards’ organization,” Haywood said. “I think that he really wants to get it done in D.C. If at some point, will he get tired of losing if things do not change? I don’t know.
“I don’t know what Bradley Beal will do moving forward. No one does because I don’t think the Wizards will trade Bradley Beal unless he walks into that office and says I want out. And nobody except for Bradley Beal will know when that time will be.”
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
Over the past couple of weeks, Beal has been connected to most of the five teams that Buford mentioned in some capacity.
The 27-year-old was linked to the Los Angeles Lakers by multiple parties. The Miami Heat rumors have been out there since this past summer. And of course the Pelicans were brought up as a very viable option just a few days ago.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ reaction to Jordyn Woods’ Buss It video speaks for itself.
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 26, 2021
Beal is currently averaging 34.8 points per game and is in the midst of the best individual season of his career. At a certain point, something is going to have to give. Either the Wizards will need to get better, or he’ll need to get a reprieve so that he can move on and contend for a title elsewhere.
Which option will it be?
Time will tell.
Related: Is Ben Simmons Dating Transgender Model Amani? (Photos)
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
