[ad_1]
Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal spent the first eight seasons of his career as John Wall’s teammate and that made it difficult for him to digest Wednesday’s trade from Wall to the Houston Rockets for his point guard Russell Westbrook.
The two-time All-Star guard knows that all he can do is move forward as he strives to “fit in” with Westbrook, a former NBA MVP.
“It was definitely a bit shocking and crazy to watch the news the other day,” Beal told reporters on Friday.
“You understand what the basketball business is … It was a tough pill for me to swallow as well, but on the other hand, you look at it and see who we’re bringing in and the caliber of the player in Russ and what he can do.” what to do, ex MVP, walk triple-double. It’s going to bring a spark to our team and an energy to our city. “
Westbrook, 32, averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 57 games with the Rockets last season.
The nine-time All-Star was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in the 2016-17 season when he posted a record 42 triple-doubles. Westbrook averaged 31.6 points, leading the league that season, to go with 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
The trade also reunites Westbrook with Washington head coach Scott Brooks, who was the Oklahoma City Thunder coach for all but 13 of Westbrook’s first seven seasons with that franchise.
Beal used to click Wall, a five-time All-Star, so naturally there are questions about how well he and Westbrook can share the ball now that there’s a new floor leader on the team.
The 27-year-old Beal averaged career-best 30.5 points in 57 games last season and has averaged more than 22 per game in each of the past four seasons.
Beal said he doesn’t foresee action when it comes to playing with Westbrook.
“I think there are a lot of false narratives that people have about him,” Beal said. “So I’m not putting any value on those things until I have some time with Russ on the court. I don’t think it’s anything he goes into and it’s like trying to run the show and just do everything himself. It happens. Realize that it’s a group effort. I don’t think it’s a problem. “
The hardest thing for Beal was saying goodbye to Wall, who last played in a game in December 2018 due to injuries.
“I’m trying not to get excited right now,” Beal said. “It’s hard because he’s a brother. You realize that the relationship was very strong, but it was crazy because a lot of people tried to separate us, a lot of people tried to separate us, put us against each other and it was always like that. Crazy because when we met and had Those conversations, it was the complete opposite of what everyone was doing and the rumors and the noise. “
Wall, 30, has career averages of 19 points, 9.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 573 games (561 starts).
Wall, the top overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, is Washington’s all-time leader in steals (976) and assists (5,282) and is fourth in points (10,879).
Westbrook has career averages of 23.2 points, 8.3 assists and 7.1 rebounds in 878 games (861 starts). He has 146 career triple-doubles, which ranks him second all-time behind Oscar Robertson’s Hall of Fame 181.
