Bradley Beal Says His Priority Is Winning with Wizards amid Free Agency Rumors

Bradley Beal wants to win and plans to do that in Washington.

At least for now.

During an appearance on Draymond Green's podcast, Beal detailed his thinking as rumors continue to swirl about his future.

"I have to have that understanding with Washington that we are in the pursuit of winning," Beal said. "That is my destination and goal. The money is awesome...but that also comes with, when you make that money, you want to win ball games. You want to be able to play for something. Right? I want to play in meaningful games. Right? I want to be playing in late June. That's what I want."

Beal acknowledged the difficulties of bringing free agents into Washington because of the organization's reputation and says the Wizards have to be active in the trade market to acquire talent. He said he's hopeful the front office can build a contender around him and praised the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis.

At the same time, Beal knows there may come a time when he may get fed up with being in the NBA no man's land. 

"It's possible for teams to do it, and it's possible to go on those runs and not all those teams have two, three, four All-Stars," Beal said. "They developed their guys. They're putting the pieces together. So it's a possibility, and it's, I mean, shoot me if you want, but that's my mindset. Like, I have that mindset. I want to do it here. But there also comes a point, Dray, that you also know that it becomes a business. And if you feel like the stars aren't aligned with that, then everybody's going to do what's best for them, regardless of what the money is."

Beal can opt out of his contract this offseason and become an unrestricted free agent. While he's a target for several contenders, none of those teams can sign him outright and would need a sign-and-trade to make a deal happen.

For now, it appears Beal is leaning toward remaining in Washington and exploring his options at a later date if the team continues struggling.