Wizards owner on Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause: He wants to be here and we don’t want to deal him

Bradley Beal’s new five-year, $251 million contract with the Washington Wizards became official on Wednesday, and there’s an interesting aspect to it. Beal’s deal contains a true “no-trade” clause, according to Bobby Marks. This gives Beal the opportunity to veto any and all trades during the life of the contract. In other words, he would have to personally agree to any deal before the Wizards could move him, should they want to. Beal’s deal also includes a 15 percent trade kicker, and a player option on the fifth season, per Marks. 

In order to qualify for such a no-trade clause, a player must be in the league for at least eight seasons, and he must have spent four of those seasons with his current franchise. Beal becomes the only current active player with a full no-trade clause, and just the 10th in history. The other players to have had the clause were LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, David Robinson and John Stockton. Not bad company for Beal to join. 

There was widespread speculation that Beal would walk away from Washington in free agency, but he maintained all along that D.C. is where he wants to be, and he proved that by putting pen to paper on a full five-year deal. 

“I have been blessed to call the city of Washington my home and the Wizards organization and our fans my family for the last 10 years, growing as a player, a leader, a husband and a father along the way,” Beal said in a statement after his contract became official. “Today represents such a special moment in my life. I could not be more grateful to have the opportunity to continue to partner with Ted, Tommy, Wes and the entire organization in moving forward to achieve our dream of bringing championships to D.C. and, just as importantly, to help our community continue to accomplish amazing things together.”  

For Beal, trying to bring a championship to D.C. was more alluring than joining up with other stars elsewhere and finding success that way. 

“Winning a championship here would mean the world to me,” Beal said Friday. “That would mean more than up, leaving, and playing with four other All-Stars. I firmly believe in my heart that I can win here.”  

While unique in an era where players rarely remain with one team for an extended amount of time, Beal’s latest commitment to the Wizards doesn’t preclude him from potentially asking for a trade somewhere down the road. However, both sides are obviously hopeful that it won’t ever come to that. 

“He doesn’t want to be traded, and we don’t want to trade him,” Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said of the no-trade clause, which he referred to as a “point of partnership.” 

Both sides are optimistic now, but things could change, and if Beal ultimately does want to move on from Washington, no deal will go through without him giving it the thumbs up.