Bradley Beal is a free agent on July 1, but he has said he is leaning toward re-signing with the Wizards and the expectation around the league has been he will take the biggest bag and say in Washington. For now. If Beal wants to leave, teams from coast-to-coast — or at least Portland to Miami — will be lined up to pay the All-NBA level wing in his prime.
What does Beal want?
He said a lot of vague things when he sat down with Taylor Rooks for Bleacher Report.
“Obviously, I consider my family. What do they wanna do? Where do they wanna live? What are they comfortable with? And, obviously, the team. So, it is surreal in a lot of ways to be in the position I am in. It is crazy numbers. It is what it is. It’s uncontrollable. It’s out of my control. But I’m blessed to be here. Again, I don’t shy away from that. I take it on with a full front and I have to do what’s best for me. There is a little anxiety because I have to make the decision and time is counting down. We’re in June now. But it’s fun to be in this position…
“I know what my decision will be based off of, and that’s gonna be where I feel like I can win. That’s going to be my decision. If I feel like I can win in DC, that’s what I’m gonna do. I want people to respect that.”
Does Beal feel he can win in Washington with Kristaps Porzingis in the paint and solid role players such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Rui Hachimura? The Wizards need a point guard and some depth, but if Beal and Porzingis can stay healthy the Wizards will win a respectable number of games. Beal could win more elsewhere, but he has remained loyal to Washington so far in his career.
There are plenty of teams keeping an eye on Beal this summer, but most of them are focused elsewhere because they expect free agent Beal to re-sign with the Wizards. Nothing he said in this interview changes that perception.
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Free agent Bradley Beal wants to play “where I feel like I can win” originally appeared on NBCSports.com
