After several months of saying he'd stay with the Washington Wizards, Bradley Beal has reportedly changed his mind this offseason. The talented shooting guard has been linked with a move away from D.C. for the past couple of seasons and it seems like that moment might be coming this summer.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Beal will decline his player option and become a free agent this offseason. This comes as a surprise given his prior statements, but things change in the NBA very quickly.
Beal could join Kyrie Irving and Zach LaVine as players that made a U-turn and decided to test the waters of free agency this year. According to Wizards insider Quentin Mayo, Beal is 'undecided' about his future, which opened the doors for many teams around the league.
“I wouldn’t pencil in Bradley Beal’s return to D.C. as a foregone conclusion… He’s still very much undecided and weighing all his options.”
Moreover, Mayo touched on the Boston Celtics reaching the 2022 NBA Finals and how that might have affected Beal's mindset entering free agency. The insider says that watching his friend Jayson Tatum playing in the biggest series of all made an impact on Beal.
“I think watching Boston get to the NBA Finals and then seeing a guy like Jayson Tatum, who is his young bull, play at the highest level, that did something to him.”
Beal has been linked with a move to Boston for a while now, and perhaps things can work for him and the team this summer. Of course, more teams will try to make a run for his services, but seeing his relationship with Tatum and the fact that Boston is the current Eastern Conference champion, Bradley could join the C's and end his tenure in Washington this year.
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