Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards dropped a very winnable game against the LA Clippers on Tuesday night, sparking trade rumors and questions about the star guard's future with the team.
With a minute left in the first half, the Wizards took a 66-31 lead over the Clippers. It was nothing new for LA, whose had a number of bad scoring first halves this season only to respond in a big way in the second half. That's exactly what happened in this one.
The Clippers scored 40 points in the third quarter to trim a 30-point halftime lead to 17 and had the deficit down to single digits with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Bradley Beal finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, and six assists on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. He knocked down a couple of jumpers in crunchtime, but was ultimately unable to help Washington close it out. A five-second violation and a pair of extremely difficult Luke Kennard three-pointers in the final 10 seconds helped the Clippers come back to beat the Wizards.
After the game, members of the Wizards media asked about Beal's future and whether he still sees himself staying in Washington long-term.
“I have a lot of conversations with Tommy [Shephard],” Bradley Beal said of the trade rumors. “We're very transparent with what we wanna do and what my future looks like. And yeah, the deadline is coming. I'm very well aware of how we're playing and how other teams are playing and what my interests are and getting this organization an opportunity to prove that and show it. And obviously, I'm a big factor into that as well, producing and playing well for this club.
“But I wanna win, and we all know that. It's just a matter of us doing it. We got the pieces, we got the assets, we got the depth. Everything that we bragged about at the beginning of the year. Now it's put it together and make it work. Speculations are gonna be what they are, I can't control that, but I know what comes out of my mouth and I know where my heart is.”
This Wizards loss to the Clippers was so bad, Bradley Beal was fielding trade questions postgame.
"Do you start questioning whether you wanna remain here?"
"I have a lot of conversations with Tommy. We're very transparent with what we wanna do and what my future looks like." pic.twitter.com/U98CatCF5g
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 26, 2022
Beal's name has often been involved in trade rumors over the last few years, but he's remained loyal to the Wizards and answered questions accordingly.
When asked to explain the loss and how a team can go from up 35 points to losing, Bradley Beal was at a loss for words.
“It’s embarrassing,” Beal said. “There’s no other way to put it… I literally was sitting for the last 10-15 minutes. I have no words besides embarrassing and… I don’t know.”
"It's embarrassing. There's no other way to put it… I literally was sitting for the last 10-15 minutes. I have no words besides embarrassing and… I don't know."
Bradley Beal after Wizards blow a 35-point lead vs. Clippers pic.twitter.com/hiEQFkfGUh
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 26, 2022
The NBA's trade deadline is February 10th, leaving teams with just about two weeks to go before the highly anticipated day. Washington is currently 10th place and in the play-in tournament, but are tied with the New York Knicks with a 23-25 record. They are, however, just three games back of the seven seed, so anything can still happen over these next few months.
If Bradley Beal's squad is going to make a move, for better or worse, their decisions will have to come in the very near future.
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