Trade talk drives the NBA’s online discourse, even when the reality of such a trade ever happening is as likely as “Madame Web” winning the Oscar for Best Picture.
Case in point, the note from Marc Stein over the weekend:
"[The Washington Wizards] gave real consideration to bringing Beal to the nation’s capital. The Wizards, of course, are the team that gave Beal that monster five-year, $251 million contract adorned with a full no-trade clause in the first place. Beal has two seasons left on the deal after this one valued at nearly $111 million.”
Beal’s no-trade clause and the inability to move him ended up being the death of a Jimmy Butler to the Suns trade — does anyone in their right mind think Beal was going to waive his no-trade clause and uproot his family to go to the worst team in the NBA? Even with Beal’s ties to our nation’s capital, there is zero chance that would have happened. Less than zero, in reality. This trade was never going to happen.
This feels like a good time to restate that saying a team discussed something internally is next to meaningless. It is the job of a front office to be prepared for anything, which leads to plenty of wild speculation and thought exercises on things that are never likely to happen. Just in case. In that vein, of course the Wizards discussed bringing back Beal if they could get enough draft picks in the swap to fortify their rebuilding efforts. They should have discussed it.
That is very different from Beal approving it or the entire trade coming together.
