NBA Rumors: Bradley Beal ‘Actively Recruiting’ Players To Join Wizards During All-Star Weekend
Everything didn’t seem to go well for the Washington Wizards since the 2018-19 NBA season started. After an early struggle, rumors and speculations have circulated that the Wizards have made every player on their roster, including John Wall and Bradley Beal, available in trade discussions.
The Wizards have traded two of their wingmen, Otto Porter Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr., before the February NBA trade deadline, but they decided to keep the explosive backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal. Unfortunately, the Wizards are currently out of the playoff race, sitting in the No. 11 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 24-34 record. With Wall expected to miss an extended period of time due to injury, the Wizards are less likely to make a huge impact in the Eastern Conference this season.
However, despite their recent struggles, Bradley Beal hasn’t completely given up with the Wizards. Washington may not be considered a legitimate title contender, but Beal is trying to find ways to change the narrative. On Twitter, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington revealed that Beal has been “actively recruiting” players to join the Wizards next summer during the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend.
“Bradley Beal said he couldn’t name names, but he was actively recruiting at the All-Star game for players to join him in D.C. with the Wizards. Some guys even came up to him and asked. If you have theories, let’s hear them.”
Ahead of All-Star weekend, I sat down with Bradley Beal for a nice long talk.
We talked about everything from his baby son Deuce saying ‘dada,’ to all the raw & honest thoughts he had upon learning about John Wall’s Achilles’ heel injury.
Read here: https://t.co/pNt7pK55VT
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) February 18, 2019
Bradley Beal decided not to give any specific names of players he tried to recruit to avoid receiving tampering fines from the NBA. Several incoming free agent superstars were present during the event and some of them were Beal’s teammates on Team LeBron, including Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics, Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors, and Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
Washington has never been an attractive destination for free agent superstars, but no one can blame Bradley Beal for trying. In order to beat Eastern Conference powerhouse teams like the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Toronto Raptors in a best-of-seven series, the Wizards obviously need additional star power on their roster. When the 2018-19 NBA season is over, only six of the Wizards’ players are under contract, with Jabari Parker having a team option and Dwight Howard a player option for the 2019-20 NBA season, per Spotrac.
If the Wizards succeed to acquire at least one superstar in the free agency market and John Wall regains his All-Star form after his rehabilitation, the Wizards will have a better chance of fully dominating the Eastern Conference in the 2019-20 NBA season.
