Beal can sign a five-year, $246 million deal this offseason with the Washington Wizards this offseason, which now seems all but certain. This confirms prior speculation that he’ll sign the supermax, then decide on if he wants to stay in Washington or not at a later time.
The Boston Celtics are rumored to be a potential preferred destination for Beal if he does decide to request a trade. But there’s a lot of things that will happen between now and Beal’s decision on his future with the Wizards.
PHOTOS: Warriors defeat Celtics in Game 6 at TD Garden
Brad Stevens addressed the idea that he'd leave the Celtics any time soon
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Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich on Friday, the morning after the 2022 NBA Draft. Listen to the podcast above for the full interview, as part of the final hour of Friday’s show.
Stevens seems like he’s settled in to his role as President of Basketball Ops – meaning he’s not about to jump ship to another team. The Utah Jazz, whom Danny Ainge recently came out of “retirement” to join as CEO, parted ways with head coach Quin Snyder earlier this month. Naturally, that leads to throwing the “Ainge-Stevens reunion” poop against the proverbial wall. But Stevens says don’t believe the rumors. Might want to keep throwing them out there, though, because Stevens seems amused by them.
“I will say this, the one thing that I hope that I’ve been over the course of time [is] I keep my circle pretty tight,” Stevens said. “And so, I would say that [the media’s] rumors over the years, I would say, have been probably not all that right. I’ve basically worked at two places for the last 24 years.
“My intent is to do this job [with the Celtics] as well and as hard as I can. I’m really enjoying it.”
Jan 25, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens (right) watches warm-ups with player development staff member Steve Tchiengang before their game against the Sacramento Kings at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Stevens did comment on Ainge and the Jazz’ head coach opening. Stevens knows for a fact that Ainge is hard at work talking to candidates – and that he is not one of those candidates. He also noted that Ainge was good at keeping their conversations private, which helped block outside noise while he was still coaching at Butler.
Either way, Stevens confirmed to T&R that he’s certainly not going to be coaching the Jazz next season.
“When Danny and I talked about coming to Boston, we talked for nine days, and one of the things that I loved about it was nobody ever knew,” Stevens said. “It was one of those things that I trusted him from that. There’s a confidentiality factor, especially when you’re coaching in college. You can really be impacted if you’re constantly in rumors and constantly swirling around, being asked questions about recruiting and all that stuff. I always appreciated that [confidentiality] about Danny.
“I can tell you for sure – because he’s talking to several people that I know well as part of his interview process – that I am not part of it, and I hope one of my connections gets the opportunity to be the head coach there.”
L-R: Utah Jazz alternate governor and CEO Danny Ainge; Celtics President of Basketball Ops Brad Stevens. (Credits: Tim Bradbury/Andy Lyons, Getty Images)
Report: The latest on Bradley Beal’s next steps
Oct 27, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) points at Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) after their game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports