Beal deal makes less sense now for Knicks
The Knicks have been in a decent position for a blockbuster trade, and Wizards guard Bradley Beal was always one of those potential targets. The logic was easy to follow: he’s a star on a bad and directionless team with an expiring contract, a recipe for a trade. The Knicks, according to sources, were among the teams monitoring the situation. There were rumors last season, reported by ESPN Radio voice Michael Kay, of Knicks executive William Wesley trying to push Beal into a trade request, which would be tampering. The NBA found nothing.
So now what? Beal’s contract status hasn’t changed without an extension signed, leaving open the possibility of a deal before the deadline. However, his status in another department makes him less appealing in this market.
Last week, Beal revealed he’s unvaccinated and hesitant to receive a shot because of concerns about its benefits and side effects.
“Some people have bad reactions to the vaccine. Nobody likes to talk about that,” Beal said. “What happens if one of our players gets the vaccine and they can’t play after that or they have complications after that because there are cases like that?”
In Washington — where the Knicks play the Wizards on Saturday in their second preseason game — Beal can play unvaccinated. As a visiting player in New York, he can also compete at MSG and Barclays Center since only “home teams have a vaccine requirement when playing in NYC,” according to Bill Neidhardt, a spokesman for Mayor de Blasio.
Los Angeles and San Francisco also have local government mandates prohibiting only the unvaccinated home players from competing. It obviously makes zero sense for the Knicks to trade for a player who is out for more than half the games. The organization proudly announced its 100% vaccination rate before training camp, and the
Knicks haven’t dealt with the kind of distractions, uncertainties and annoyances of the Kyrie Irving drama across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Beal may still get vaccinated, if he hasn’t already since his comments on Sept. 27. He left open the possibility. But his comments were a red flag. In the meantime, another potential trade target — Blazers guard Dame Lillard — was vaccinated and explained why.
“I have a lot of people in my family that I’m tight with and I spend a lot of time around and I’m just not going to put their health or their lives in danger because I want to do research,” Lillard said. “As a kid, I had to get shots my whole life. Before I went to college, I had to get shots. And, I couldn’t tell you one thing about any of them.”