Bradley Beal on Trade Rumors: 'A Lot' of Teams Have Talked to Wizards About Deal

Bradley Beal said Wednesday "a lot" of NBA teams have reached out to the Washington Wizards about acquiring him in a trade.

He told The Old Man and the Three podcast: "Teams are trying. A lot of them are calling. A lot of them are inquiring and putting packages together and trying to see if they can get me. That's not a secret. They've been doing for the last couple years. I don't view it as a distraction; it's kind of a sign of respect and motivational too."

Here's a look at the complete interview (trade talk begins at the 22:30 mark):

Although there's seemingly widespread interest, which isn't surprising given his back-to-back All-Star selections in 2018 and 2019, it doesn't sound like Beal will force his way out.

In March, he told Marc Spears of The Undefeated he wanted to stay with the Wizards for his entire career, if possible.

"For me, I look at Kobe [Bryant], 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," Beal said. "I hate change. If it happens, it happens. But if I can control it, I will finish in D.C."

Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer reported in early October that Beal will stay in Washington and "give it a shot" alongside John Wall, who's set to return from an Achilles injury next season.

Wall sat out the 2019-20 season after missing around half of the previous two campaigns because of injuries.

The Wizards finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 49-33 record in 2016-17, the last time Beal and Wall played a full season together. They also reached the second round of the playoffs for the third time in four years in 2017.

Along with Beal and Wall, the Wizards have a couple of promising players in power forward Rui Hachimura and center Thomas Bryant. Add the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, and Washington has real potential to bounce back in a major way next season.

That said, it's hard to know how Wall will perform after an entire season away, and another sluggish start could lead the Wizards' front office to consider a full-scale rebuild.

Beal will be a hot commodity on the trade market if that's the route they go.