Almost as soon as the rumbles about Washington Wizards All-NBA guard Bradley Beal might want out of his current situation, the conventional wisdom in NBA media circles was that teammate Russell Westbrook’s time in the nation’s capital would likely come to an end as well.
However, it seems that theory may be put to the test, as Stadium’s Shams Charania is reporting that a proposed trade of Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers might well have the opposite effect. Charania’s sources tell him Beal “has no desire to leave the Wizards”, who now have the “ability to continue to build the right way around Beal in terms of having rotation players [and] financial flexibility to make moves down the road as well as draft capital for the next several years.”
For the Celtics, this seems to put an end to the popular push to add Beal to Boston via trade for the time being, though it may well become a prospective move with currency at the trade deadline should things continue to stagnate in Washington.
"Sources tell me Beal right now has no desire to leave the Wizards."
NBA Insider @ShamsCharania reports on Bradley Beal as the Lakers-Wizards work to complete Russell Westbrook trade, presented by @ATT 5G. pic.twitter.com/FBkzRqwcLj
— Stadium (@Stadium) July 29, 2021
A pursuit of Beal for Boston in free agency next offseason might also still be on the table with the Wizards guard able to opt-out of his current deal at the end of the 2021-22 NBA season.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
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