Bradley Beal Admits Speculation Will Abound Unless Wizards Turn It Around

Are the Wizards’ recent struggles putting Bradley Beal‘s future with the franchise in doubt?

It’s hard to tell, though Beal so far has been loyal to Washington, and some close to him believe he would prefer to stay. But blowing a 35-point lead before losing to the Clippers on Wednesday sure didn’t help.

Beal is still the face of the team and when the losses start to pile up, the trade rumors will start. And that’s something GM Tommy Sheppard will need to manage.

“I have a lot of conversations with Tommy,” Beal said. “We’re very transparent with what we want to do and what my future looks like. And yeah, the (trade) deadline is coming up, and I’m very well aware of how we’re playing and how other teams are playing and what my interests are.

Bradley Beal on what needs to change: "a lot"

Added that the loss was "embarrassing."

"What are we trying to be…are we trying to be a winning team?"#DCAboveAll || @FortyEightMins pic.twitter.com/LAWKd2KHAn

— NBACrouse ? (@ChrisWCrouse) January 26, 2022

“Granted, I’m giving this organization an opportunity to prove that and show that, and obviously I’m a big factor in that, too, in producing and playing well and performing. But I want to win, and we all know that. It’s just a matter of us doing it.

“We’ve got the pieces, we have the assets, we’ve got the depth — everything that we bragged about at the beginning of the year. Now let’s put it together and make it work. Speculations are going to 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, and everyone will know.”

That makes it sounds as if Beal wants to stay with the Wizards. He very likely will do just that beyond the Feb. 10 trade deadline.

But if things don’t pick up in Washington, the offseason with Beal may have a very different feel.