The Washington Wizards are not interested in dealing superstar franchise cornerstone Bradley Beal.
Seriously.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Wizards are not willing to trade Beal, even as the rumor mill keeps swirling and even though his name “will come up over and over” throughout the next season.
The Wizards appeared to be undergoing a roster purge last season, trading away a number of key players, but Beal appears to be a part of their long term plans.
Wizards’ general manager Tommy Sheppard stated, back in July, that the team planned to offer Beal a three-year maximum contract extension, and wouldn’t even consider trading Beal if he chose not to sign a new deal.
“He’s got two years left on his deal, and he’s from Missouri and we are going to have to show him,” Sheppard said at the time, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “We need to show him that we are about building this the right way, that we aren’t going to have character-deficient guys around him. We are going to surround him with guys he wants to play with.”