NBA Rumors: Pelicans Reportedly Want Bradley Beal If Anthony Davis Trade Becomes 3-Way With Lakers, Wizards

Although recent reports have hyped up the Los Angeles Lakers as the top favorite to successfully trade for New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis, some of these reports have also suggested that a third team could be involved in the negotiations. According to a recent Twitter update, the Washington Wizards could be the third team in the Davis deal, with the Pelicans supposedly interested in acquiring the Wizards’ prized shooting guard, Bradley Beal.

Citing an unnamed “NBA source,” WDSU’s Fletcher Mackel said in a Twitter post on Thursday morning that Beal was the star player mentioned in rumored multi-team trade scenarios that would send Davis to the Lakers, with Los Angeles giving away the No. 4 pick in next week’s draft as part of the deal. No specific scenarios were mentioned, but Mackel stressed that the Pelicans “want” Beal in a three-way trade involving the Wizards and Lakers.

As separately reported by ClutchPoints, the 25-year-old Beal won’t be eligible to enter free agency until the summer of 2021, as he is in the middle of a five-year, $127 million contract he signed with the Wizards in 2016. Beal, who averaged a career-high 25.6 points along with five rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game in the 2018-19 NBA season, will be earning slightly more than $27 million next season.

Mackel’s tweet about a third team figuring in the Lakers’ rumored attempt to trade for Anthony Davis came one day after a similar tweet from The New York Times’ Marc Stein, which, per ClutchPoints, suggested that youngsters Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball have also been made available by the Lakers in trade discussions, along with their fourth overall draft pick. Although Stein did not mention any specific team, he hinted that the Pelicans are hoping for a “three-teams-or-more deal” before they proceed to trade Davis to the Lakers.

NBA source tells me the “All-Star player” being referenced when talking about Anthony Davis/Lakers scenarios and using the #4 pick to get NOLA a veteran is Bradley Beal.
Pelicans want him in 3-team deal with LA.@FearTheBrown was first to report Beal as Pels target.@wdsu pic.twitter.com/mFZRQPsrXe

— Fletcher Mackel (@FletcherWDSU) June 13, 2019

One notable omission from Stein’s list of young Lakers supposedly up for trade was forward Kyle Kuzma, who, as noted by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, is the youngster whom the Pelicans are most interested in. As the Lakers are reportedly decided on keeping Kuzma as he enters his third season in the NBA, the publication added that there’s a chance they could keep their No. 4 draft pick if they change their minds and place him on the trading block.

While Bradley Beal could give the Pelicans a top-flight backcourt alongside Jrue Holiday as they start alongside forward/center Julius Randle and prospective first overall draft pick Zion Williamson from Duke, the three-way scenario with the Wizards and Lakers isn’t the only Anthony Davis trade scenario making the rounds of the rumor mill. According to ClutchPoints, the Boston Celtics could also be in play for Davis, with at least one of the team’s young core players, including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, rumored to be included in their trade offer.