Suns' Bradley Beal: 'It Was Tough to Hear' Wizards Wanted to Trade Me, Get Younger
Bradley Beal was not thrilled with the news that the Washington Wizards wanted to trade him before he was eventually dealt to the Phoenix Suns on June 26.
Beal was especially disappointed after meeting the Wizards front office prior to the deal being made and learning that the franchise wanted to enter a rebuild, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
"So, to hear that they wanted to go in the direction of building younger and moving me to a potential contender—it was tough to hear," the 30-year-old said.
He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Wizards, ranking second on the team's all-time scoring list behind Hall of Fame forward Elvin Hayes. Beal made three All-Star teams with Washington while averaging a career-high 31.3 points per game during the 2020-21 season.
While Beal experienced lots of individual success, the Wizards were never able to find the right complementary pieces around him to build a contending team in the Eastern Conference once All-NBA point guard John Wall began to miss time due to several injuries. Beal also struggled with availability as he dealt with health issues of his own, failing to appear in more than 60 regular season games in each of his final four seasons with the team.
He was then traded to the Suns in a deal that brought Chris Paul to the Wizards. Paul was then flipped to the Golden State Warriors for 24-year-old guard Jordan Poole, signifying that Washington was headed toward a youth movement.
The Wizards have struggled to begin the 2023-24 season as they've looked to develop young players such as Deni Avdija and Bilal Coulibaly, owning a 4-21 record. Poole is averaging 16.9 points per game but has struggled to maintain his efficiency with increased attention from defenses, shooting just 40.9 percent from the field and 29.9 percent on threes.
The Suns have gotten off to a commendable 14-12 start, although the star-studded trio of Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant haven't been able to spend much time on the court together. The former Wizard has appeared in just six games and is currently set to miss "the next two weeks" due to an ankle sprain, according to the team.
