Getty Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, who would be traded to the Dallas Mavericks in this proposed deal.
Surrounding Luka Doncic with talent is the top priority for the Dallas Mavericks. Christian Wood has worked out well for them this year, but they still seem to be one big piece away from truly contending for an NBA Championship.
According to JJ Redick on a recent edition of his podcast show, The Old Man & The Three Things, Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal would be the perfect co-star to pair with Doncic.
Here’s an outline of a potential three-team trade involving the New York Knicks that would send Beal to Dallas:
Mavericks receive: Beal
Wizards receive: Evan Fournier, Davis Bertans, Obi Toppin, Cam Reddish, Jaden Hardy, 2023 1st-Round Pick (via DAL from NYK), 2025 1st-Round Pick (via DAL), 2026 1st-Round Pick (Swap), 2027 1st-Round Pick (Top-10 Protected)
Knicks receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Kyle Kuzma
A trio of Beal, Doncic, and Christian Wood would immediately be one of the best in the league, and considering Doncic has been able to carry the Mavericks on his own this season, adding Beal to the mix would likely only elevate their title chances.
Redick hyped up the idea of Beal on his podcast.
“It’s just a matter of who would be available, and I like the idea of Bradley Beal a lot… It’s obviously gotta be somebody that’s comfortable playing off the ball,” Redick said. “Sort of oscillating between on the ball and off the ball, and most stars are ball dominant.”
He also stressed the importance of Beal being able to play off the ball, noting that he’s the “optimal guy” to play alongside Doncic.
“I think the interesting thing about Bradley Beal is his ability to sort of play off the ball as a cutter, coming off pin downs, spot up shooting, and then getting into ISO, pick and roll play so I think that’s sort of the optimal guy,” Redick said.
Luka Doncic on Relationship With Christian Wood
A trade for Beal would help the Mavericks a ton, but Doncic and Wood have already formed a great relationship. They’ve been moving up the Western Conference standings lately, having won seven games in a row.
Doncic said that he and Wood have a great relationship because he’s able to yell at the big man without him getting mad.
“I mean, it’s great. He doesn’t get mad if sometimes I yell at him,” Doncic explained. “And that’s what I appreciate. Because you know, in the game, I’m a lot. Sometimes it’s hard to be with me on the court, probably. I just want to win. But you know, he appreciates that. He never gets mad. He listens to me, I listen to him, so it’s working great.”
He also took a friendly jab at Wood, saying that he has “no sense of humor.”
“No, no. He has no sense of humor,” Doncic said when asked if he and Wood have a similar sense of humor. “I’ve got way more. I tell him my jokes. My jokes are great, so he’s learning from me.”
Teams ‘Monitoring’ Christian Wood’s Trade Availability
While Wood wouldn’t be involved in the proposed trade for Beal, that doesn’t mean his name hasn’t been thrown around in rumors. Dallas has made no indication that they want to trade him, but Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported that teams around the league are “monitoring” Wood’s trade availability.
“Rival teams have begun monitoring what the Dallas Mavericks intend to do with center Christian Wood,” Haynes wrote. “Dallas has yet to show any indication that he has been made available for a trade, but some teams believe that could change soon.”
As a wiz fan who has seen tons of proposed trades for Brad and more recently Kuz… I can honestly say this is by far the worst one. He must not know how happy we were to get Bertans off the books.