Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal reportedly wants to finish the season on a different team.
NBA reporter Chris Sheridan cited a source and noted the University of Florida product "has made it known in no uncertain terms that he wants out of Washington pronto."
Beal's agent Mark Bartelstein denied the report, via Candace Buckner of the Washington Post, "That is absolutely not true. The only sources that would know [what Brad's thinking] are Brad and myself. And Brad's focus is 100 percent on helping the Wizards play consistent, winning basketball."
This is the latest headline in a season that has been filled with drama for the disappointing Wizards.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Beal told team officials, "I've been dealing with this for seven years" after a "volatile practice" that included "verbal altercations among players."
What's more, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reported Washington was open to trading any of the players on its roster, including Beal and John Wall, after it wasn't able to generate enough interest or trade value in some of the supporting pieces.
Wojnarowski also reported Wall yelled "F--k you" at head coach Scott Brooks during a practice and eventually apologized to his teammates for the outburst.
Washington has struggled on the court and is off to a 7-12 start. It is two games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and looks nothing like a team ready to compete for a deep run in a conference no longer featuring LeBron James even after making the playoffs in four of the last five years.
Beal would be a valuable addition to any team in the league seeing how he is just 25 years old and isn't set to be an unrestricted free agent until 2021. He is averaging 21.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists a night and is capable of hitting from three-point range when defenders collapse on Wall's penetration or creating shots for himself or others as the primary facilitator.
He also may be an easier chip to trade from the backcourt considering Fred Katz of The Athletic reported "the league is as down on Wall's value as you'd imagine." Katz pointed to a supermax deal that pays the point guard $170-plus million during the next four years in addition to the off-court concerns after some of the latest headlines.
