Former Washington Wizards Guard Bradley Beal Takes a Look Back at Trade
Bradley Beal spent the first 11 years of his career as a part of the Washington Wizards.
The Wizards drafted Beal with the third overall pick in 2012 and he went on to have three all-star appearances.
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Unfortunately, Beal dealt with a lot of injuries in his last few years with Washington which harmed the local fanbases view of him.
After the Wizards went with a new front office this offseason they decided to move on from the guard and ship him and his large salary to the Phoenix Suns.
In the aftermath of the Washington game against the Suns this past week, a game in which Beal was out with an injury, he spoke about the trade.
"It was very tough because you guys know how kind of, I guess, naive I was in some ways," Beal told reporters. "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."
Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) reacts after scoring against the New York Knicks in the first half at Footprint Center.
Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Beal wanted to be with the Wizards for the rest of his career.
He thought it was his team and will forever be his team, but the new front office didn't see it the same.
Washington was able to send him and guard Jordan Goodwin to Phoenix for guard Chris Paul, flipped to the Golden State Warriors for guard Jordan Poole, guard Landry Shamet and tons of draft picks and swaps.
Considering Beal had a no-trade clause and tons of leverage on Wizards GM Will Dawkins, Washington ended up getting a dang good haul.
It looks even better considering Beal has only played in six games for the Wizards and one of those draft picks eventually turned into rookie guard Bilal Coulibaly.
The Suns have struggled to start the year and it is partly because of him missing time.
As tough of a decision as it was for Beal, it was the right one for him and Washington.
He gets to contend for his first NBA title with Phoenix and a much needed tear down rebuild is underway for the Wizards.
There will be plenty of support and cheering in the DMV for Beal if he can win a championship this summer.
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