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Bradley Beal could have been part of the Golden State Warriors team that just won the NBA championship.
Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show (starts at 4:25 mark), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that before the start of the 2021-22 season the Warriors “kicked the tires” on a trade for Beal but the three-time All-Star “didn’t want to go .”
It was previously known that the Warriors had interest in Beal.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne wrote on June 2 that general manager Bob Myers explored deals, either via free agency or trade, to bring in an established star before the start of last season.
Beal was specifically mentioned as one of the Warriors’ preferred choices, but “nothing came together in a way they liked” and they moved on by keeping their young players to develop around the nucleus of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins .
Few players were speculated about in trade rumors more in the past two years than Beal. He was linked to various teams at different points, including the Boston Celtics.
When nothing came together to entice Beal to leave the Washington Wizards, the 29-year-old remained with the club. The decision paid off for him with one of the most player-friendly contracts in NBA history.
Beal agreed to a five-year, $251 million extension with the Wizards at the start of free agency. It was later revealed the deal also included a full no-trade clause, making him the only current player with that security.
Only nine other players in league history have ever had a full no-trade clause at some point in their careers.
It’s unclear what the Warriors would have had to give up in a Beal trade. It would be safe to assume that some of the high-end role players who were significant in the Golden State’s run to the NBA Finals would have been moved.
Beal missed the final 33 games of the regular season with a wrist injury that required surgery.
If the Warriors didn’t have, say, Wiggins and Jordan Poole because they were traded to Washington, would they have won the championship?
Golden State defeated the Celtics in the NBA Finals to win the franchise’s fourth title in the past eight seasons.