John Wall and Bradley Beal were teammates on the Washington Wizards for eight seasons, including this past season that Wall missed, but now their partnership is officially over after the star point guard was traded to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster deal that's bringing Russell Westbrook to the nation's capital.
Wall and Beal had their ups-and-downs together as a duo, with four playoff appearances and ongoing rumors of a beef at one point. Wall was once the face of the Wizards, only for Beal to recently take over that mantle with the point guard sidelined due to his Achilles injury.
Wall recently requested a trade away from the Wizards, and now it has been granted. While it doesn't appear as if this was anything personal between Wall and Beal, The Athletic's David Aldridge says this trade was made with Beal's future in mind:
But did Beal want to wait any more for Wall to get back to where he was before the injuries? Did he believe Wall was as diligent about his rehab as he could have been? Did he want to go back to a supporting, catch-and-shoot role, which seemed inevitable even as Wall professed he’d play differently with Beal going forward, seeing how Beal’s game had grown the last two years?
No.
Furthermore, Aldridge reports this is a decision that had to have come from the top. Wizards owner Ted Leonsis appreciates everything Wall gave to the franchise, but he has his reasons for moving on:
Leonsis had also come to believe that Wall was, often if not always, “too cool for school,” in his thinking. And, the shirtless video of Wall at a party this summer, flashing gang signs, was the last straw. (Again, as I wrote two weeks ago: Leonsis was a thousand percent right in being furious with his 30-year-old face of the franchise for doing such a dumb thing.) This was not a decision that could be made by GM Tommy Sheppard, or his equivalent in Houston, Rafael Stone.
“At the end of the day, this is a Ted call,” one source said.
Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard had recently claimed the team had no intention of deal Wall, even after his trade request. But with both Wall and Westbrook wanting a fresh start, it made sense for these two teams to come together to consummate a deal.
Wizards fans will surely miss Wall after all the good times he gave them, but now they're hoping this new Westbrook-Beal duo can have success and convince Beal to stick around for the long haul. Meanwhile, the Rockets are hoping Wall can get James Harden to change his mind about his own trade request.
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