Bradley Beal, Wizards will work to find trade parter, per report

Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards will work to find a trade partner, according to Stadium’s Shams Charania.

“Just In: The Washington Wizards and Bradley Beal will work together to find a trade for the three-time All-Star if the team elects to reset the roster in the near future, league sources tell me and Joshua B Robbins,” Charania wrote on Twitter.

The former Florida Gators star was drafted by Washington with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. But the trade rumors surrounding Beal were evident over the last few seasons.

Beal hasn’t played a full season since the 2018-19 campaign. He played 50 games this season and finished with 23.2 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, 5.4 assists per game and shot 50.6% from the floor and 36.5% from three-point range.

Despite good numbers in limited action, Beal hasn’t topped 60 games since ‘18-19 (he played 60 in 2020-21).

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst isn’t confident in a big return in a Beal trade, regardless of where the Wizards potentially deal him.

“Last week when Michael Winger was introduced as the new team president, he put it on the table,” Windhorst said on Get Up. “He said he has clearance from ownership to rebuild if he wants to, that he hadn’t made up his mind yet. But Winger was very cautious in making those comments. If the Wizards are going to make a move with Bradley Beal, it looks like it could be before the draft next week.”

Beal also has a no-trade clause in his deal. He hasn’t played for anyone else in the NBA throughout his decade-plus as a pro.

“It’s very important to understand that Bradley Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract,” Windhorst said. “This is very rare in the NBA. So, not only would he be able to choose if he left. He would be able to choose which team he went to and, frankly, what he got traded for.

“And I’m just going to tell you this; if the Wizards and Bradley Beal come to a decision that he should be traded because they’re going to start a rebuild, I think people would be stunned at what the price could be. And I don’t mean high. I mean low.”

Beal was First-Team All-SEC in 2012 while with the Gators and helped Florida get to the Elite Eight in his lone season at school.