The Wizards contemplated reacquiring Bradley Beal prior to the trade deadline, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post.
In their failed quest to acquire Jimmy Butler from the Heat, the Suns desperately tried to find a third team that would take Beal’s maximum-salary contract, since Miami was unwilling to do so. With Phoenix operating over the second apron, the only way it could pull off that trade and retain Kevin Durant and Devin Booker was to trade Beal. Butler, of course, wound up getting dealt to the Warriors.
Washington sent Beal to the Suns in the summer of 2023. The previous year, Washington signed Beal to five-year extension with a no-trade clause, which he waived in that deal.
However, Beal balked at waiving the clause before this year’s deadline, so even if the Wizards, Suns, and Heat had figured out a trade construction that sent him to Washington and Butler to Phoenix while appeasing all three teams, Beal may not have signed off.
It’s unknown exactly what type of enticements the Wizards were seeking to take on Beal’s contract. They felt one potential incentive for Beal to return to Washington was that he could have become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. He racked up 15,391 points with the Wizards, 160 points behind Elvin Hayes.
Previous reporting from ESPN stated that the Wizards and Hawks were the only two teams to consider the idea of acquiring Beal at the trade deadline.
Beal, who has two years left on his contract, averaged 23.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in seven February games but the Suns went 1-6 in those contests. He returned to action on Sunday after missing two games with tightness in his left calf.