NBA
The Kings were unwilling to trade Keegan Murray to the Wizards in a deal for three-time all-star Bradley Beal
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated20 Jun 2023
Last week, reports started to heat up on the potential of Bradley Beal being traded. A few teams found themselves in the mix, including the Sacramento Kings. They were beat out by the Phoenix Suns who were able to ship Chris Paul to the Wizards. According to sources, Sacramento had their chance at Beal but was unwilling to trade Keegan Murray.
That speaks to how highly the Kings value Murray, a 2022-23 first-team all-rookie selection. They used the 4th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft on Murray and he had a strong first professional season. Phoenix didn’t have to give up a player of Murray’s caliber in their trade. It was smart for the Kings to retain Murray.
He was part of a Sacramento team that helped end a 17-year playoff drought for the franchise. Along with their all-stars, Murray is set to be a pivotal piece of their team moving forward.
Report: Sacramento Kings were unwilling to trade Keegan Murray for Bradley Beal https://t.co/zo9dzCAdek
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 20, 2023
Sacramento was unwilling to let Keegan Murray go in a potential trade package for Bradley Beal
David Aldridge of The Athletic reported that the Wizards were trying to trade up in the 2022 draft to select Murray. He’s a player that they valued highly, but the Kings took him 4th overall. Even if the Kings were willing to trade the 22-year-old, Beal still had a no-trade clause in his contract.
He could have said no to Washington moving him to Sacramento. With how highly the Kings value Keegan Murray, that was never going to be an issue in the first place. As a rookie last season, he averaged (12.2) points, (4.6) rebounds, and (1.2) assists per game.
Murray also shot a red-hot (.411) percent from deep last season, playing in 80 of their 82 games. He shattered Sacramento’s all-time rookie three-point record with 206 threes last season. In the 2023 NBA Draft, the Kings own the 24th overall pick. Tune into the draft this Thursday night at 8:00 pm EST on ESPN and ABC.
