Bradley Beal urges Wizards' owner to keep franchise in Washington / News - Basketnews.com

Bradley Beal, who spent 11 years with the Washington Wizards, would prefer that the franchise not move from the US capital.

Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix Credit Michael Reaves/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix

Bradley Beal had been a cornerstone for the Washington Wizards, who selected him with the third overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. He was a three-time All-Star and a 2020-21 All-NBA Third Team selection during his tenure.

Bradley Beal

MIN:25.17PTS:14.67 (51.06%)REB:3.33As:3.17ST:0.67BL:0.33TO:2.33GM:6ProfileNBA2023/2024

The versatile guard averaged 22.1 points, 4.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game during his time with the Wizards.

As part of a diary entry with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Beal expressed his wish not to see the franchise move to Virginia, something that the team's owner is considering.

"D.C., I'm here with you. I'm with you all. There is no moving to Virginia. What is that, [Wizards owner] Ted [Leonsis]? We love you to death. We understand what you want to do and are trying to do. But you can't take the team out of D.C. It's Chocolate City," Beal said.

"As a league, we need it. It has to stay in D.C. now. The money? Listen, it's out of my hands and out of my control. I ain't got nothing to do with that. Hopefully [Washington] mayor [Muriel] Bowser can work something out with you," the Phoenix Suns guardcontinued.

"I hope the team stays. It's good for the city. It creates a little bit of a problem, just my personal opinion, if it moves to Virginia. It's probably similar to how people felt when [the Washington Commanders] moved to Maryland. It is a tough thing.

We just got to get everybody back to D.C. just rebuild RFK Stadium, rebuild Cap One (Capital One Arena). Keep it in the city. We can make it happen and they can make happen."

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