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Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal said it was “shocking” and “hard to swallow” to see John Wall traded to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook, but believes he and Westbrook “are doing well.”
Wall and Beal have been teammates for the past eight seasons, but Wall has not played for two years due to an Achilles injury. The pair have reached the playoffs four times, but couldn’t make it through the second round.
Beal said the two days since the trade have been “emotional”.
“It was really shocking and crazy to see the news the other day,” Beal said. “You get the basketball business. … It was a hard pill for me to swallow too, but on the other hand you look at it and see who we bring and the caliber of the player. to Russ and what he’s… able to do, former MVP, walking triple-double, he’s going to bring a spark to our team and an energy to our city. “
Westbrook, 32, comes to Washington with a reputation for wanting to win badly as well as his aggressive and offensive nature on the court. Beal, who has thrived in Wall’s absence and averaged a career-high 30.5 points and 6.1 assists last season, said he wouldn’t accept any negative accounts that Westbrook was difficult to play. Beal said he’s excited to see what he can do with Westbrook.
“I think there are a lot of false accounts that people have about him,” said Beal, who also referred to Westbrook as a playmaker. “So I won’t be putting any stock into these things until I have some time with Russ on the floor. I don’t think it will be anything where he comes in and he likes to try to run the show and do it all on his own. He realizes that it’s a group effort. “
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Beal added. “The simple fact that I like playing the ball a little more than years ago is perhaps the only one [adjustment], but just him being able to rely on [Paul George], to submit to [Kevin Durant], hand over to James [Harden] sometimes it will be the same. “
Wizards chief executive Tommy Sheppard said Trading Wall, the franchise’s No. 1 overall pick in 2010, was the toughest decision he’s made in nearly three decades in basketball. ball. But he also said Westbrook would help the Wizards “hit our pace a little faster” since Wall hasn’t played since December 26, 2018.
“I felt it was my responsibility for the Wizards to improve themselves and have the opportunity to acquire a player who is a nine-time All-NBA player,” said Sheppard, who started the virtual conference by saluting Wall for his impact on the franchise and the DC community. “There are 28 people in history who have been an All-NBA player at least nine times. There are four active in the NBA: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. His resume talks about himself. “
Beal said he and Wall have had several conversations since the exchange, including an emotional moment when Wall visited the Wizards facility one last time to say goodbye.
“I’m trying not to get emotional now,” Beal said of this moment. “It’s hard because he’s a brother. You realize the relationship was so strong, but it was so crazy because a lot of people tried to break us up, a lot of people tried to put us apart. part, to put us against each other, and that was always crazy because when we got together and had these conversations, it was the opposite of what everyone else was doing and rumors and noise. “
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