It Sure Sounds Like Bradley Beal Continues To Have Zero Desire To Ever Leave The Wizards

Stephen Gosling. Getty Images.

When you look at the list of names that could potentially hit the market this summer, this is what you see. Basically, it's not all that great

With some of the big names on that list, I think you can be confident that guys like Wall and Westbrook are not about to turn down their player options because they probably aren't getting extensions with their current teams. With Kyrie/Harden, I think the jury is still out on what goes on there. They'll most likely opt out simply for what it will mean in terms of the new offer they can get, but I think it would be a stretch to assume they leave Brooklyn. Kyrie may not opt out if the Nets aren't down to extend him, but either way, he'd be staying put. I'm confident Zach LaVine isn't about to dip on a team that sits atop the Eastern Conference.

Then there's Bradley Beal. You had stories like this come out the other day

but that is incredibly misleading, and mostly just a clickbait headline. It makes absolutely zero sense for Beal to sign an extension rather than opt out…..and then sign an extension. You go from a 4/181M deal if he does to a 5/242M deal if he doesn't. Basically, him not signing an extension early doesn't mean he wants to leave. In fact, all Bradley Beal has ever done is talk about how much he is very much not interested in leaving the Wizards. Every time he's asked about it, he says the same shit. He once again reiterated that to Woj 

I know there are Celts fans out there that dream about Beal pulling a Harden type move and telling the Wizards he's leaving for nothing unless they sign and trade him to the Celtics. It's a fun dream to entertain given his relationship with Tatum, but I still put that in the pipe dream category. Just listen to his answer. Does that sound like a guy who is itching to find a new home? Or does that sound like a guy who understands the situation and is comfortable where he's at, regardless of how things end up? We talk all the time about how great it is that players like Giannis and Dame are loyal as shit and how more guys should be like that. We celebrate the legends like Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, etc that played their whole careers with just one team. The vibe you get from Beal is that he has no problem being a big fish in a small pond. If he never wins a ring, so be it. 

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Now Beal certainly wouldn't be the first star player to say something like this and then ultimately dip, but all you have to do is look at his track record. He's had multiple opportunities to leave and hasn't. He's continued to extend his deals. On one hand, we can't say it's weak that stars leave their teams to join superteams and then give someone like Beal shit for wanting to stay in DC. It might suck for the fanbases that want him on their team, but I doubt that matters in the slightest to Beal.

Which brings me back to the pending free agent market as we approach the trade deadline. I wonder if that shallow market of true difference makers will have teams more willing to give up future cap space in order to make some sort of deadline deal now. Who exactly are you saving big money for in that group? So while comments like this from Beal might be a bummer to some fans out there, it could also mean a much more active trade deadline which is always great. Stressful sure, but fun.