Bradley Beal trade rumors fly as Wizards mull whether to rebuild

The most significant comment Michael Winger made at his introductory press conference last week wasn’t about the new structure of Monumental Basketball, which he has been hired to oversee. It wasn’t about the collaboration between him and general manager Will Dawkins. It wasn’t even how he declared the Wizards would become a “generational contender” who would be regularly competing for championships. 

Rather, Winger revealed he had the authority to commence a full-scale rebuild — if that’s the direction he determined the Wizards, a team mired in mediocrity, needed to take. 

“Full authority to reset the team, if that’s what we decided to do,” Winger said. “We just haven’t sat down to figure that out yet.” 

Any such reset, however, would likely involve trading star Bradley Beal  — a possibility that seemed to become more realistic this week as multiple reports emerged that Washington was working with the guard to find trade partners should the Wizards commence in a teardown. 

No such deal appears imminent, but the Wizards will likely need to decide on a course of action due to the timeline of the NBA calendar. The NBA draft is only a week away and free agency starts on July 1. 

If the Wizards decide to move on from Beal and strip down the roster, the plan would be a dramatic change for a franchise whose owner, Ted Leonsis, declared in 2019 that his team would “never, ever tank.” But in a recent radio interview with 106.7 The Fan, Leonsis appeared to change his tune. 

He pointed to his history of building the NHL’s Washington Capitals and his early years of owning the Wizards — which involved selling off veteran players to commence multi-year rebuilds. 

“I’m not afraid of a rebuild,” Leonsis said. “What I told (Winger and Dawkins) was this is what we have, come in and assess, and this is a blank canvas; come to me with the plan, you’re accountable and I’m up for whatever you tell me will get us to the right place. 

“They’re totally empowered. No one wants to come be the No. 1 person for a team knowing they’re not going to be the one making the calls — Michael has my assurance that he has the keys.”

Figuring out a suitable trade for Beal is complicated — largely because the three-time All-Star holds a no-trade clause. That gives Beal and his camp considerable leverage over any possible trade given that Beal can decline what team — and package — the Wizards could otherwise work out. 

There is precedent for a player using his no-trade clause to quash deals, too. In 2007, the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly worked out a deal to send a disgruntled Kobe Bryant to the Detroit Pistons — but the former MVP vetoed the trade because Detroit wasn’t on his preferred list of teams. Also that summer, the Lakers reportedly reached a deal to send Bryant to the Bulls — one of his preferred teams — though the deal fell apart when the superstar insisted Chicago not include Luol Deng as part of the package to Los Angeles.

Bryant ultimately stayed with the Lakers, a move that worked out for both sides.

In Beal’s case, the 29-year-old has said he wants to stay with Washington and he signed a five-year, $251 million contract to remain with Washington just last offseason. But at the end of this past season, Beal didn’t exactly shoot down the idea he could be on the move as aggressively as he had before.

“I wake up one day and they might not want your boy,” Beal said. “And then I got to make a decision.” 

Beal is the only player in the NBA who currently has a no-trade clause. As such, league insiders and analysts have been skeptical that Washington could fetch a significant return for a player who has struggled to stay healthy over the last two seasons. 

If Beal is open to a trade, the Miami Heat, New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings have been floated as suitors. All three of those teams theoretically have intriguing assets that could help Washington rebuild in the long run. But the Wizards actually landing those pieces could be quite a challenge for Winger and his new front office.