Nets Rumors: Evaluating the Bradley Beal Trade Talks

The Brooklyn Nets may or may not be interested in making Bradley Beal their third star.

The Nets rumor mill appears to be falling victim, in recent days, to one of the most fatigued news cycles in recent NBA memory.

If you enjoyed the endless cycle of Karl-Anthony Towns rumors that abounded the past few years, prior to Minnesota’s acquisition of D’Angelo Russell to be his running mate in a little relay we call “The 28 Wins 5K,” then surely you’re not yet tired of everyone asking, “Hey, where’s Bradley Beal going? Is it nowhere?”

Beal, it seems, has “lost faith” in his organization’s direction in Washington, which begs the question: Why did he ever have any in the first place? Since the Wizards are wrapping up another relatively non-competitive season replete with Beal-centric hero ball, that means it’s time for his name and max deal to once again float into the trade market, hence…the Nets rumors.

Per sources that have cropped up in recent weeks, the Nets have found themselves mentioned in the masses, alongside the Lakers — who appear to be the favorite, even though Anthony Davis’ deal is also expiring. You’ll see the Nets are singled out here:

https://twitter.com/incarceratedbob/status/1270450256656941062?s=20

And here:

The Nets rumors about Bradley Beal are getting too loud to ignore.

Of course the Nets want a third star. Is there a contending NBA team out there these days that doesn’t want to market a trio? But with capital limited, and Beal’s demands for the ball becoming Harden-esque, does Brooklyn really want to take that risk without ever even seeing what Durant and Irving look like together, while flanked with complementary pieces?

Beal agreed to a max extension with Washington at the start of the 2019-20 season (funny how those things often serve to facilitate trades instead of prevent them), and he’s owed a maximum of $72 million, with a player option in place for 2022-23. He remains an incredibly expensive trade target, who’d likely require Brooklyn to gut the roster of some combination of Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen. He’s also not going to want to alter his 30.5-points-per-game role too much, and will consider himself the Nets’ most game-ready star the second he walks in the building.

And following KD and Kyrie’s lengthy rehab process, he might be right. Is that the type of competition you want to install in that locker room before they’ve ever really established chemistry as a duo?

Beal would be dynamic and debilitating at the same time. He has spent the past several John Wall-less years learning to operate his own machine, and doing it well. We have no idea what’ll happen when he becomes an expensive addition to a group that never asked for him, and immediately demands to be the centerpiece.

Brooklyn should heed these words before making an expensive mistake. Ignore the Nets rumors. Build the Nets you wanted first.