Beal on the annual uncertainty of the NBA trade deadline originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Now in his ninth NBA season, Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been around long enough to see a few trade deadlines pass. Though he's never been traded himself, or been involved in any legitimate trade talks, he knows there is a certain type of feeling that comes with this time of the year.
"As a vet, it’s always weird during this time because you never know what will happen. It’s always quiet until the last day or the hours leading up to the deadline. So, you just kind of just sit and wait. You honestly just never know what will happen," Beal said.
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"I’ve seen guys traded at halftime of a game before. It’s a dog-eat-dog world come this time of year. I’m not sure if we’ll do anything, but I’m sure [general manager Tommy Sheppard] has been on the phones. Whatever he can come up with in the next 72, we’ll address it."
Beal was asked after Monday's practice what he thinks the Wizards should do before this year's deadline, which will arrive at 3 p.m. on Thursday. He did not specify their needs and deflected to Sheppard, who is in charge of constructing the roster.
Sheppard has an interesting task at this year's deadline with his team five games out of the eight-seed in the East and four games out of the play-in tournament. The Wizards have won seven of eight games at their peak, but currently sit 11 games under .500, having lost five of their last six.
They went through a Covid-19 outbreak in January that disrupted their season for an extended period of time. They also sustained a season-ending injury to starting center Thomas Bryant and are now without key bench players Davis Bertans and Ish Smith.
So, do the Wizards buy or do they sell? Beal didn't share his opinion directly, but did say he is often kept aware of Sheppard's plans.
“That’s tough. You always sit in the position you’re in and it’s easy to say you need this, that and the third. But it’s not always the easiest thing to do or pull off. I could sit here and say we need a lot. I could sit here and say we’re ready to go with what we have. It’s just a matter of us being more consistent," Beal said.
"That’s Tommy’s job to do and whenever he brings something or something comes to the table, he always asks or incorporates me, so I’m appreciative of that from that standpoint.”
