There’s some uncertainty as to the direction of the Washington Wizards. Especially after they traded Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers. Though, alongside Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal is one of the few NBA stars who has been celebrated for his loyalty.
However, there comes a point that the loyalty becomes an issue. Especially, if the team is taking too long to become a competitor. Beal has no immediate plans on leaving the Wizards, but there appears to be a limit on how long he’ll wait. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Beal talked repeatedly about how much he wants to compete for a title, something Washington hasn’t been in position to do since he arrived there a decade ago.
“I’m patient, but there comes a time where you have to be a little selfish and draw a line in the sand, for sure,” Beal said.“So, I have thoughts in my head but at the same time I stay in the moment. I stay engaged with what we have and what we do and don’t get caught up in noise and just go from there, take it a day at a time, control what I can control.”
In his time with the Wizards, the team has just three playoff series wins. They’ve also missed the playoffs three of the last four years. They appear to be in position to make the playoffs this season, especially after winning 10 of their last 14 games heading into the All-Star break, but they are still sitting in just ninth place in the East leaving Beal short of the ultimate goal.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished a good amount of my career,” he said. “I’ve been an All-Star, been All-NBA, averaged 30 (points per game) in the league. It’s just, ‘OK, what can I do now? What do you want to do?’ Win, win, win, win, win at the highest level, play in meaningful games, win multiple playoff series, get to the Finals, win a Finals. That’s what I want to do. That’s the goal.”
Mixed Emotions on attending Game 4 of last year’s NBA Finals:
“I was sitting with my wife, and I was like telling (Jayson Tatum) just like, ‘No, guard him, guard him,’ like I’m on the team. Man, I got to chill. But just the atmosphere, as a competitor, you’re like, ‘Yo, I want to be a part of this. I want to hoop on this stage.’ So that, there was nothing like it. I’d have drove myself mad if I’d have went to more than one game.”
On his level of confidence that the Wizards can become a contender:
“We’re making steps to compete, and we’re doing it on a nightly basis. (Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard) is making moves to improve the team. So, all I can do is sit in back, trust him, trust his process, work with what we are working with. It’s not easy. The grass isn’t always greener. I understand that when you give up, hell, if I go somewhere (else), you’re giving up a lot. So, that factors into a lot of stuff, too. So obviously you try to put yourself in the best situation possible for yourself and your family. We’re trying to build on it. We’re trying to do that here.”
On conversations with other one-team players such as Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard:
“We all think the same. It’s just our commitment to want to win where we’re at, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. We’re just trusting the organizations that drafted us. They put that trust in us. They continue to invest in us, and we’re just trying to pay that back. We’re trying to give them our all that we possibly can, and I love it, man. I don’t think there’s nothing wrong with it. I take pride in that.”
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