Bradley Beal Trade Rumors: Wizards Have Not Made SG Available in Talks

The Washington Wizards have reportedly not made shooting guard Bradley Beal available in trade talks during the 2019 NBA offseason.

ESPN's Zach Lowe reported Wednesday that although Beal's name "will come up over and over" as teams search for a third star before or during next season, the Wizards haven't indicated they're willing to deal him.

In July, Washington general manager Tommy Sheppard told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski the team was going to offer Beal a three-year maximum contract extension and didn't plan to trade the guard even if he didn't sign the 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. "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."

If he doesn't ink an extension with the Wizards, Beal can become a free agent in 2021 after completing a five-year, $127.2 million contract.

Washington finished with a 32-50 record last season, the sixth-worst mark in the NBA, after losing point guard John Wall to heel surgery. Wall later suffered a torn Achilles from a fall at his home, and team owner Ted Leonsis told reporters it will "probably" keep him sidelined for the entire 2019-20 campaign.

The Wiz are likely to struggle again next season because of their lack of talent around Beal without his backcourt running mate.

Beal, the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, has averaged 19.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals across 488 career games for Washington. He put up a career-best 25.6 points per contest last season with Wall limited to 32 appearances.

His name figures to spend most of the season in the rumor mill, especially if the Wizards get off to a poor start, but so far, the front office hasn't shown any interest in putting him on the trade block.