Report: NBA Insiders Believe John Wall-Bradley Beal Relationship Became 'Rotten'

The Washington Wizards' decision to trade John Wall seemed practical because of his injury history, but there may have been more to it than just that.  

Per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, NBA insiders think the relationship between Wall and Bradley Beal had "run its course at best and had grown rotten at worst."

Rumors about the dynamic between Wall and Beal have been ongoing for years. Wall told NBC Sports Washington in August 2016 that "a lot of times we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court."

"We got to be able to put that to the side," he added. "If you miss somebody on one play or don't have something go right ... as long as you come to each other and talk. If I start arguing with somebody I'm cool. I'm just playing basketball."

Both players have been complimentary of each other, as well. Beal wrote on his personal blog in 2017 that Wall's basketball IQ is "tremendous, and I don't think he really gets a lot of credit for it."

Responding to that in a March 2017 interview with The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears, Wall said it was "great" to read Beal's comments:

"We both are young, talented players that want to be great, want to be special. But when you have two young guys like that, they're going to bump heads. Every superstar [duo], they've bumped heads before. We both respected each other to a certain extent [before]. But we know we can't be the players we want to be without each other. We understood and respected that."

The Wizards had success with Wall and Beal as their two best players. They made the playoffs four times in five seasons from 2013-18, but they never advanced past the second round. 

The 2018-19 season represented the last stand for the Wall-Beal dynamic. Wall suffered a heel injury on Dec. 26 that kept him out for the rest of the year. He subsequently ruptured his Achilles in a separate incident after falling at his home the following month. 

Beal became the Wizards' franchise player after signing a two-year contract extension in October 2019. He's tied to the team through the 2021-22 season with a player option for 2022-23. 

Wall was traded to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook on Dec. 2. He spent nine seasons with the Wizards after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2010 NBA draft.