The Washington Wizards are moving relatively quickly to complete a trade of Bradley Beal. Not only is that driven by the approaching 2023 NBA Draft, followed a week or so later by the opening of free agency. But the Wizards are also worried about what could happen if Damian Lillard were to request a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Marc Stein reports that the Miami Heat, a primary suitor for Beal, are believed to prefer trading for Lillard over the Wizards guard. Many of the same assets Miami would have to send to Washington for Beal would be the ones sent to Portland for Lillard.
At this point, the belief is that the Trail Blazers prefer to move Anfernee Simons and the third overall pick in the draft to add win-now talent around Lillard. However, should that fail to happen, Lillard could request a trade.
The possibility of Lillard requesting a trade has the Wizards looking to complete a Beal trade ahead of the draft. Otherwise, finding a trade for Beal, already complicated by his large salary and no-trade clause, could become an even tougher task for the new Washington front office.