Philadelphia 76ers pursuit of Eastern Conference All-Star wanes

For years there has been speculation about a separation between Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are constantly in no man’s land, never being good enough to have playoff success, but also never being bad enough to land a high lottery pick and that is the worst place to be in the NBA. When these separation discussions have come up, the Philadelphia 76ers have been discussed as a good landing spot for Beal.

Do the Philadelphia 76ers have an interest in Bradley Beal?

Beal is the only player in the NBA that has a full no-trade clause included in his contract. In the NBA, no trade clauses are extremely rare, and Beal’s being the most restrictive of any player’s contract means he will not be moved unless he wants to and agrees. And until about a week ago, Beal showed less than zero interest in leaving Washington. He seemed content with being the best player on a middling team, who is allowed to take as many shots as he likes.

However, surprisingly this all seems likely to change as Michael Winger, former Los Angeles Clippers general manager, was hired in recent weeks as President of Basketball Operations for both the Wizards and the Washington Mystics. Winger’s first move in his new position appears to be moving on from Beal and his massive $250+ million contract as conversations between the franchise and Beal’s agent have seriously begun.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo reported that the Philadelphia 76ers do not appear to be interested in making a trade for Beal. The Sixers are publically saying that re-signing James Harden is the team’s number one priority. Fischer also noted in his article that the Sixers are actively trying to get a second-round pick in this year’s draft, as presently they do not have any picks. Morey is always active around draft day so it will be interesting to see if he can acquire pick(s) for next week. What is clear though, is that the team’s past interest in Beal, whether real or speculative, has waned.