Bradley Beal Credits 'Great Conversations' With Damian Lillard For Sticking With Wizards

In a must-read story at The Athletic, Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard discuss their conversations about legacy that spurred the former to remain with the Wizards.

The basketball world keeps on waiting for Bradley Beal to force his way out of the nation's capital. Considering the source of inspiration behind his choice to re-up with the Wizards in 2019, though, it seems Beal is bound to continue his career in Washington D.C. for the foreseeable future.

In a revealing, must-read story by The Athletic's Fred Katz and Jason Quick, Beal credited his relationship with Damian Lillard for deciding to stick it out with the Wizards. 

Before signing a two-year, $72 million contract extension with Washington in October 2019, Beal wanted to pick the brain of another superstar who's for years resisted calls to change teams. He called and texted Lillard on multiple occasions, with the goal of learning what has long vexed fans clamoring for the Trail Blazers' franchise player to play elsewhere.

“Why did he stick through it?” Beal recalls asking Lillard.

Lillard, of course, has played his entire career in Portland after being selected with the sixth overall pick of the 2012 draft, three spots behind Beal. He surprised league followers by inking a four-year, super-max extension with the Blazers in June 2019, keeping him under contract through the 2024-25 season – when Lillard's prime will likely be over.

Beal reached out to Lillard that summer while mulling his own extension, hoping to have his preference to stay in Washington validated by a like-minded friend and competitor.

"He was another guy where people were like, ‘He has to get out of Washington, and he has to do this and he has to do that …’ and I have people say that about me all the time,” Lillard said. “And I think we share that same mentality, where it’s like … No. It’s nothing against people who decide to team up and all that stuff. It’s just, this is the route we choose. This is the route we want to go. This is what means something to us. And I think we connect on that.’’

Lillard has always maintained his goal is to finish his career as the greatest player in franchise history, bringing a championship to Portland in the process. He further confirmed that sentiment in February on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, and went on to explain he'd never leave Rip City to join a superteam somewhere else.

Beal feels the same way not just about finishing his career with the Wizards, but teaming up with other superstars. 

Those conversations were great. … We always say, it’s always easy to jump on the other side with two, three other guys who are really good, but at the same time, that grass isn’t always greener,” Beal said. “We’ve seen that. History has shown that."

Endless speculation about Beal's future in Washington won't end, as Lillard knows all too well. The most popular national-media talking point stemming from Lillard's epic crunch-time performance against the Warriors earlier this week wasn't his place in the MVP race or even how he stacks up to Steph Curry, but a plea for Lillard to play in a bigger market. 

Rest assured, calls for Beal to demand a trade will continue. But just like Lillard, he seems to know what winning a title with the Wizards would mean to him.

"It would hit different for me here," Lillard told The Athletic of winning a title in Portland.

(Fred Katz and Jason Quick, The Athletic)

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