Bradley Beal Trade Rumors: Lakers Had Shown Interest 'At Different Points'

As they look for a potential third star to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers might turn their sights toward Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal. 

During an appearance on Complex's Load Management podcast, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the Wizards will likely extend a supermax extension to Beal, but it's not immediately clear if he would re-sign. Charania added that the Lakers have shown interest in the two-time All-Star "at different points."

Beal is under contract through the 2021-22 season and has a $37.3 million player option for 2022-23.

He told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears in March he envisioned potentially ending his career with the Wizards:

"Wanting to have my jersey retired in Washington one day played a factor in me re-signing. Every night we walk into that arena, there's five names up there. Those are some of the five greatest to ever touch a basketball. To be on pace to breaking the records that I am now and to be here for eight years already, that's special. And coming into the prime of my career, you don't know how much longer you have.

"For me, I look at Kobe, I look at D-Wade [Dwyane Wade], I look at Dirk [Nowitzki], U.D. [Udonis Haslem], how they can stay in one situation for a long time.

"I hate change. If it happens, it happens. But if I can control it, I will finish in D.C."

Of course, circumstances can change.

Wade spent nearly the entirety of his career with the Miami Heat, but his relationship with the team broke down during the summer of 2016 before signing with the Chicago Bulls.

The Wizards are potentially facing a difficult transitional phase.

They lost in the first round of the 2018 playoffs, missed the 2019 postseason and sit ninth in the Eastern Conference, 5.5 games back of the Orlando Magic as the NBA prepares to restart the 2019-20 campaign.

John Wall is set to earn almost $133 million over the next three years, and nobody knows for sure how he'll look once he makes his return after suffering a ruptured Achilles. If Wall has lost a step, Washington might have to effectively tear everything down and start fresh.

In that scenario, few would begrudge Beal if he wanted to leave and join a franchise closer to contention.

Beal would be a great fit for the Lakers because he would be a great fit for almost every team. Los Angeles exhausted a lot of its trade assets to acquire Anthony Davis, though. Aside from Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers have little of value that would also match up with the Wizards' timeline.

And many would question Kuzma's true value and whether trading for him would be worth it since he's looking at a pay raise as a restricted free agent in 2021.

The closer Beal gets to free agency in 2022 or 2023, the more leverage the Wizards would lose in trade negotiations. Still, they'll almost certainly demand a strong return since a Beal trade is their quickest way to replenish the roster with young players or acquire coveted draft picks to accelerate a rebuild.