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Things are not going great for the Washington Wizards right now. They currently own the worst record in the NBA and the Russell Westbrook fit doesn't seem to be working. With James Harden now traded, the eyes of the NBA world have now turned to Bradley Beal as the next NBA superstar who could be on the move.
Beal trade rumros aren't anything new, but he's now the focus of the entire league with the way this Wizards season is going. Will he ask for a trade? Would the Wizards move on from their franchise superstar? Who knows at this point, but if we know anything about the modern NBA, we know that these rumors aren't going to just go away.
So what's the market for Beal? Well, he's a star in the NBA, so you know it's going to be robust. We're talking multiple first round picks and more. That's the way it works. With the Beal trade rumors flying around, we decided to pick out five NBA teams that should make a serious run at the Wizards star.
Miami Heat
This is a pretty obvious place to start. Not only have the Heat been linked to a Bradley Beal trade in the past, but we all know how aggressive Pat Riley is when trying to get stars to the Miami Heat. A deal for Beal would be sort of tricky for Miami because they'd likely have to give up a combination of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson in the move, but they'd also have a core of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Bradley Beal. That's an elite Big 3 to build around and woudl surely keep the Miami Heat as one of the best teams in the East.
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are at a crossroads as a franchise. They still have Steph Curry, but this season took a big hit when Klay Thompson tore his achilles a few months back. We all know that the Warriors are aggressive, and with Curry not getting any younger, they may need to go for it sooner rather than later. Most assumed they'd be players for Giannis, but now that he's staying with the Bucks, they could surely turn their focus to Beal. They have the assets to pull off a deal and should be looking to extend their championship window as long as possible. Adding a player like Bradley Beal to the mix would surley do that.
Philadelphia 76ers
We all know the Philadelphia 76ers almost traded for James Harden. At one point they even looked like the favorites to land him. They reportedly offered up Ben Simmons in the deal, which means he's not off the table in trade talks. So, what would stop Daryl Morey from offering Simmons in exchange for Beal? Nothing, to be honest and nobody should be surprised if it ever got to that point. We all know how much Morey values shooting on his teams, which is why you can't rule out the 76ers going after Beal. The flood gates are open after the James Harden trade rumors and now everything (minus trading Joel Embiid) should be on the table for Philly.
Denver Nuggets
How much fun would this be? The Nuggets remain one of the best teams in the West, but they still seem to be missing a piece to be true NBA title contenders. Well, how about pairing Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray with an All-Star like Bradley Beal? That would certainly boost the Nuggets championship window and make them a legit contender in the West. As long as the Nuggets could hold onto Murray and Jokic in the deal, this would be a complete win for them. On the other side, the Nuggets have some young players like Michael Porter Jr. who could appeal to the Wizards and their future rebuild.
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are one of the weirder teams in the NBA right now. They currently sit at 9-8 and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, but you'd be foolish to call this season smooth to this point. It seems that they have no idea what to do with John Collins, who is apparently on the trade block, all while they're trying to work in some big money free agents that they signed this offseason. They could go along way by pairing Trae Young with another star like Bradley Beal and hopefully avoiding any possible future trade rumors surrounding Young if the team doesn't do enough to build around him. We're not close to that, but they should absolutely start looking at deals like this to make Young happy. Young and Beal would be an absolute dynamic duo in this league. Don't sleep on the Hawks.