Bradley Beal has probably always been “the star” of his basketball team.
From youth basketball in the St. Louis area, to his stellar prep career at Chaminade, to Florida where he was one of the nation’s best player, he was the go-to guy.
When drafted by the Washington Wizards in 2012, the team already had a proven star in guard John Wall.
But injuries soon slowed Wall and robbed him of scores of games during the prime of his career.
Again, Beal was the team star – the best player the franchise had to offer.
So, for the first time in his career, Beal might have to take a backseat to a healthy and proven All-Star.
Welcome to Washington, Mr. Russell Westbrook.
After Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard said on Nov. 23 during a virtual press conference, “there’s no plans to trade John,” he did just that less than two weeks later.
Wall and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round NBA draft were dealt to Houston for Westbrook.
Can Beal and Westbrook, a pair of dynamic scorers who want the ball in their respective hands in big moments, work it out in Washington? Beal says yes.
“I think on the court, we’ll be good, man,” Beal told NBC Sports Washington.
“I don’t think it will be anything where he will come in and try to run the show and do everything by himself.”
The reality is that Westbrook has been labeled a proverbial “ball hog” and rumbles of selfishness have followed him from Oklahoma City to Houston.
This, for now, is not a concern for Beal.
“For me to sit here and say he can’t make things work with other guys, well I can sit here and say I’m not other guys, either,” Beal said.
“Their games aren’t like my game. I’m very adaptable. I adjust to who’s with me, who I’m playing with, new guys we add. My job is to make his job easier.”
Before Westbrook could address his future as a Wizard during his introductory press conference, he was asked about his past and if he is misunderstood.
“Where do you want me to start? Listen, I think the underlining thing about that is 90 percent or 100 percent of it is not even true,” he said.
“A lot of times, the things that are made up are by people that don’t actually know me to be able to say anything about me or what I’m about, or what I believe in.”
The 27-year-old Beal opted out for the conclusion of the NBA season last summer while he let a sore shoulder heal.
In 57 games, he averaged a career-high 30.5 points per game, 6.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds. His team did not advance to the playoffs.
Westbrook, 32, averaged 27.2 points, 7 assists and 7.9 rebounds in 57 regular season games. His Rockets advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, where they were topped by the eventual champion L.A. Lakers in five games.
Surprisingly, Westbrook has averaged 9.7 assists during the past six seasons and was the NBA leader in assists twice in that span.
“I’ll feed off of (Westbrook), too. I think I have a lot to learn from him. He’s a lot older than me, he’s an MVP, he’s been there,” Beal said.
The Beal-Westbrook grand experiment will begin on December 23 when the Wizards regular season begins Dec. 23 in Detroit.
The Reid Roundup
St, Louis Cardinals free-agent catcher Yadier Molina reportedly wants to remain with the only franchise he has played for – but wants a two-year contract. His leading suitor, other than St. Louis, are the New York Yankees…Tegna, the northern Virginia-based telecommunications company that owns KSDK (Channel 5), is in a contract squabble with DirecTV. The local station was blacked out last Sunday, so NBC directed viewers here (and 51 other markets) wanting to see the Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs to its Universo HD channel. The entire game was televised in Spanish, as were most commercials. While I know little Spanish, I had fun listening to the broadcast team of Edgar López and René Giraldo… Jalen Hurts took over for the benched Carson Wentz in the Philadelphia Eagles loss to the Green Bay Packers last Sunday. The rookie Black quarterback who played at Alabama then Oklahoma will probably get his first NFL start on Sunday when the New Orleans Saints visit Philly… Sergio Perez won the Sakhir Grand Prix on Dec. 6, making him the first Mexican driver to win a Formula 1 race since 1970 (Pedro Rodriguez). It is Perez’ first win in 109 races.
Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on 97.1 Talk.” His Twitter handle is #aareid1
