Bradley Beal reflects on John Wall trade

Bradley Beal said it was an emotional week with John Wall being traded, in a press conference Friday afternoon. The Wizards star referred to Wall, who is now in Houston, as his “brother” many times, and as someone who he “has been riding with since day one.” Beal said their bond goes all the way back to high school and that they had great years together in D.C.

It’s not lost on Beal that the NBA is a business and in this case, a business decision was made. Beal believes trading Wall was likely one of the most difficult choices the Wizards organization has ever made.

“It was a tough pill for me to swallow,” he said.

Beal also discussed the positives of former MVP Russell Westbrook joining the team.

“On the flip side...you look at it and see who we’re bringing it in and you see the caliber player in Russ.”

Beal referred to Westbrook as a “walking triple-double” and said he’s going to bring a spark to the team and energy to the city.

“That void won’t go unfilled,” said Beal. “You know John left tremendous, tremendous impact on the city of D.C. [and] he left a tremendous impact on me and my family.”

Wall visited the Wizards facility for the last time yesterday to say goodbye , which Beal said was a hard moment for him and “spoke volumes of John as a person.”

“I haven’t seen many players do that,” Beal said.

“I get emotional but it was tough man because he’s a brother...and you realize that relationship was so, so strong, but it was so crazy because a lot of people tried to break us apart,” Beal said. “A lot of people tried to pull us apart, put us against each other, and it was just always crazy because when we came together and had those conversations, [it] was the total opposite of what everybody was making into rumors.”

Beal said their brotherhood continues and said he’s had great, positive conversations with Wall the last few days. “My ultimate goal for him is to be happy,” Beal said.