If you could describe Bradley Beal’s situation, I would say a big fish in a small pond or even a whale in the kiddy pool. However, before we go any further this needs to be said, Bradley Beal is probably one of the most overlooked players in the league right now. He’s averaging 35 points per game with a 47.9 field goal percentage. There are growing rumors of Beal’s departure from the Wizards so it’s only right to give him his flowers early. Even with these rumors, I still think Bradley Beal genuinely wants to stay with the organization and see them win.
Back in 2019 ESPN ranked Beal at #19 for top NBA players, putting Ben Simmons and Kemba Walker above him with Simmons at #15 and Walker at #17. I will not be completely oblivious, Kemba and Ben were both on playoff teams however, this is undoubtedly disrespectful to the legacy and work ethic of Bradley Beal. Bradley Beal is far better offensively than both of these players but because of his inability to win games with his team, Beal does not get the recognition he deserves.
Without a question we can be mesmerized by Beal’s stellar offensive ability to put the ball in the basket, but there needs to be an examination of Beal’s character in order to understand the current situation for the Wizards. One of the first things you need to know about Beal is his loyalty. It is almost nostalgic and archaic to see a player stay on one team and truly believe the team can win. It’s either you see players trying to stuff the stat sheet or stars teaming up with other stars to create superteams. But in the case of Beal, He proved his loyalty to the organization by not leaving when things got rough. The caveat to that is the Wizards had the money to keep him around but regardless Beal is a loyal player.
During his career there were also rumblings that him and John Wall did not necessarily see eye to eye. Even with that drama, Beal and Wall proved to have a strong brother-like relationship that was easily displayed on the court. Just like any siblings, they would occasionally get into but if you are around your siblings long enough you know that happens. No matter what circumstances whether it be winning, losing, trade rumors, or off-court issues, Beal was loyal to Wall. You could sense Beal’s discontent with the Wall and Westbrook trade but he also seemed optimistic about having Westbrook a part of the squad.
If I am going to mention his loyalty, I think it would be remiss for me not to mention how much work Bradley Beal puts in. Even after suffering multiple minor injuries that slightly put him back, Beal still managed to progress very well with his scoring numbers going up year by year. Like fine wine, Beal has aged well in the league. I do think what played a major role in his overall progression was the extended absence of John Wall due to injury. The majority of the offense would be placed on Beal shoulders and being the type of player he is, Beal proved that he could lead his team offensively.
Although Beal is such a great offensive threat, one can make the argument that Beal lacks leadership and his game can be somewhat one dimensional. In addition, he is not on a winning team. The harsh reality is that during the Wall and Beal era, the Wizards only managed to see the playoffs twice. Injury, trades, and management issues may have also played a role in their inability to get to the playoffs but in the end the numbers do not lie.
Your game can be smooth but that should not be reflected in your leadership style. Granted, some of us are not in the locker room, practices, or huddles but what we do know is that whatever is being done now is not working. At what point do you need your star player to be that vocal leader? In the case of Beal, he was drafted to a team where John Wall already established himself as the team leader, so the only times where his true leadership skills would be demonstrated is when Wall was out due to injury.
There is a lot of instances where the star player is not the vocal leader of the team, it’s usually that veteran player on the team who’s in everyone’s ear. But I think what separates Kobe, Jordan, and James from regular stars is being a star player and a vocal leader. I think having both qualities can create a better chance of winning games. There have been well documented accounts of Kobe and Jordan going off teammates during practices, building tough character in them. I do not necessarily think that Beal has to yell at his team but to separate himself and actually motivate his teammates to get wins, he needs to become more vocal and continue to lead by example. With that being said, I think one of the most important roles that Russell Westbrook plays is to show Beal how to be a leader.
Also, one could argue that Beal was not vocal enough during the trade. It would have been nice to see Beal advocate for John Wall a little more during his trade negotiations. It is very clear that the NBA is a business and some players do not like to get involved with management issues but going back to this idea of leadership, I think Beal could have been more vocal about the trade regardless the appearance of “off-court” issues with Wall. Again, we’re not in the management meetings or conversations but in some cases true leaders and franchise players speak up for their teammates.
Beal’s future may seem unclear with the organization, but the majority of rumors of trading Beal should be taken with a grain of salt because they are just rumors. It would be a disservice to Beal and the whole organization if Beal were to part ways with the team. There is still a lot of basketball left to play and we need to continue to watch the development of this new Wizards team.
