Beal: ‘Sign of respect’ from Irving & Durant

Wizards star Bradley Beal says it’s “a sign of respect” that his name has emerged in trade talks in recent weeks.

Beal’s name has come up in trade rumors surrounding the Brooklyn Nets, who according to the Daily News’ Stefan Bondy, have had internal discussions about trading for the twotime All-Star and league’s second-leading scorer behind James Harden. In a league ripe with duos, the Nets could form a trio of Beal, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, creating one of the more unstoppable offensive attacks the league will have seen.

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard this kind of talk,” Beal told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan. “It’s interesting. To me, I look at it as a sign of respect, that I’ve been doing good things and guys want to play with me.

“That’s an unbelievable feeling. When you hear that Kyrie [Irving] and KD [Kevin Durant] want you, s—t, that’s amazing.”

Beal has emerged as one of the three best shooting guards in the NBA over the past three seasons as his All-Star teammate and point guard John Wall has battled foot injuries. With Wall out this entire season dealing with a bum heel, Beal has averaged more than 30 points per game shooting better than 45% from the field and 35% on more than eight three-point attempts per game.

Since Jan. 1, the Wizards’ star leads the NBA with an average of 33.6 points per game.

But Beal has been loyal to the Washington franchise that drafted him third-overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. He has declared on a number of occasions that he wants to stay and win in the nation’s capital and would like to retire as a Wizard.

“My biggest thing right now is that I want to play with John [Wall] again,” Beal said to ESPN. “I want to see him get back to that level where I know he can be, especially since my game has grown so much [while he’s been out]. What can we accomplish together? I’m so happy he’s healthy, working his tail off.”

That’s why, as Beal says, as nice as a trade to Brooklyn would be to play with two likely Hall of Famers in Irving and Durant, “at the same time, you don’t know how much there is to it, or how easy it would be to do.”

“And I’ve put down roots in D.C. I’ve dedicated myself to this town, this community. I love it here, and it would feel great to know I could grind out winning here instead of jumping to another team,” he said. “But I’d be naive to say that I don’t think about it when these stories come up.”

Any trade for Beal for the Nets would require parting ways with young players and draft assets. The Wizards would be foolish to deal their star guard for a package including anything less than at least Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie and first-round picks.

It’s still unclear whether the Nets truly need a third star on their roster. Brooklyn has two of the top 10 players in the game, an emerging star in LeVert, a steady backup point guard who could start elsewhere in Dinwiddie, and one of the deepest rosters in the NBA when you stack it pound-for-pound against any other lineup.

Then again, star power wins championships, and the Nets have a chance to align their stars in Brooklyn.