Rival Execs Monitoring Trade Possibilities on Wizards’ Bradley Beal

The Wizards have a new basketball man in charge in Michael Winger, and that clearly has some outside the organization wondering what might come next.

All Winger has said is that the Wizards don’t intend to tank. Presumably, that would mean hanging onto star shooting guard Bradley Beal. (Winger even has already expressed excitement about Beal being on the roster.)

Still, it appears that opposing executives aren’t so sure. At the very least, they intend to find out if Beal is part of the Wizards’ longer-term plans.

“Last week, Michael Winger, the new president of the Washington Wizards, said he has been given clearance from ownership to do a complete rebuild,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Get Up, via RealGM. “That has left everybody in the league wondering what about the future of Bradley Beal.

“Beal has a unique contract unlike anybody else’s in the NBA. He has a no-trade clause, which means not only can he decide if he wants to leave the Wizards, but he can decide who and what he is traded for. It makes it extremely to find a deal and Michael Winger has said he has not made up his mind yet, but that indecision has led teams to keep a very close eye on the Wizards as they not only have Beal but big free agents Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis.”

Winger, for his part, said the idea is to build a true contender, by any means necessary.

“The eventual expectation is that we’re going to build a generational contender,” Winger said, via Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “We’re going to eventually have a team that is competing for championships. I can’t promise when that will be. But there’s no excuse for the lone NBA team in Washington, D.C., not to be a perennial contender or at least be pursuing championships.

“So, that’s the goal. The goal is to pursue championships by any means necessary. It’ll take time.”