It is Possible But Unlikely the Brooklyn Nets Will Acquire Bradley Beal

The NBA rumor mill stops for nothing, and today Stefan Bondy fed the machine when he reported the Brooklyn Nets have had internal discussions about acquiring Washington Wizards superstar Bradley Beal. This does not come as a shock after Kyrie Irving did Kyrie Irving things and told the media it was obvious the Nets needed better pieces before the season was put on hold. Brooklyn could cobble together the money to match salaries and make the return somewhat worthwhile for Washington, but it seems pretty unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Let's start with Beal. Despite the fact that him saying he's loyal to a fault is a backhanded compliment to the organization, he's been insistent for two years now that he doesn't want to leave the Wizards. There isn't a lot of benefit to the Wizards moving Beal unless they got a superstar or a superstar-in-the-making in return. The optics would be terrible, it would definitely make John Wall mad while he works his way back from his ACL tear, and the point of bottoming out is to acquire a player like Beal. Unless he goes full Anthony Davis and refuses to play, Washington isn't going to move him.

The Nets can offer a package of Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert (once his contract extension kicks in), and Jarrett Allen along with the Philadelphia 76ers draft pick they own. Dinwiddie is a good player but tops out as an average starting point guard, LeVert has potential but the highest ceiling he can reach is still short of Beal, and Allen is a good young center, but the importance of having one of those has lessened with each passing year. The Sixers' pick is currently slated to come at No. 20, so that's not exactly a prized asset. Even making the offer wouldn't do great things for Brooklyn's chemistry.

From everything that was out in the public, Irving and Kevin Durant were coming to the Nets to fit into the culture that Kenny Atkinson & Co. created, not remake it in their own image. That clearly changed when Atkinson resigned before the season even ended. Acquiring Beal would make the Nets a championship favorite rather than a contender as they're currently constructed, but it would leave them without depth and quite reliant on two superstars in Irving and Durant with injury histories.

It's a deal the Nets could make, but Washington won't be willing to even enter discussions unless Beal says otherwise and there's a good case to be made Brooklyn is better off keeping their depth than going after that elusive third star. In summation: possible but unlikely.