Report: Russell Westbrook tried to persuade Bradley Beal to request trade from Wizards

Bradley Beal has been with the Washington Wizards for his entire career, and one fellow NBA star was unsuccessful in trying to get him to leave.

The Athletic’s Bill Oram, Shams Charania, and Sam Amick reported Monday that Beal’s former Wizards teammate Russell Westbrook tried to convince him that they should both ask out of Washington in the weeks before the NBA Draft this past July. Beal ultimately declined but supported Westbrook’s efforts to get to Los Angeles, the report added.

Westbrook, who ended up on the Lakers in a multi-player trade, was only with the Wizards for one season. That means that he had much less of an attachment to Washington than Beal, who was drafted by the Wizards in 2012 and has been there ever since.

The 28-year-old Beal can become a free agent next offseason by turning down his $37.3 million player option for 2022-23. While Beal might not have been interested in Westbrook’s proposal, other teams will certainly keep trying to gauge his availability.