Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been the subject of trade speculation for much of his NBA career.
During an appearance on Showtime's All The Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Beal revealed that trade speculations involving him began even before he was drafted into the NBA in 2012. According to the Wizards star, there was a deal during his draft night that would have sent him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for James Harden.
“We're sitting in the draft room. Sure enough my agent, was like, ‘It's possible you might go to OKC.'… I said, ‘Damn, how am I gonna go there? I didn't even work out for OKC.' I only worked out for three teams: Washington, Cleveland, and Charlotte…[OKC] were gonna trade up to 2 or 3, get me, trade James to Washington,” Bradley Beal recalled.
“I'd've been in OKC with KD and Russ.”
Beal said it was a “last minute” decision that was “almost done.”
Unfortunately, Harden was dealt to the Houston Rockets in October 2012 for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and two first-round picks.
Beal signed a two-year, $72 million extension with Washington last October, which kicks in at the 2021-22 NBA season. However, trade rumors continue to surround Beal. Just recently, he was mentioned as a possible target for the Brooklyn Nets, who are reportedly looking to acquire a third star to pair with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Nonetheless, Beal's agent flatly rejected the notion of his client being moved.
Harden (34.4 PPG) and Beal (30.5 PPG) are the only two players in the NBA averaging over 30 points per game in the 2019-20 season.
Check out Beal's full conversation with Barnes and Jackson:
Follow Us
Subscribe