Report: Beal has Celtics as a preferred trade destination

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If Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal were to follow through on his reported consideration of a trade request, one of his preferred outcomes would be to be sent to the Boston Celtics, KRON's Jayson Dumas reported Saturday morning, citing league sources.

Dumas cites Beal's friendship with Celtics star Jayson Tatum as part of the reasoning for potentially wanting to go to Boston.

After consistently pushing back on rumors he would like to be traded, Beal now is "considering" requesting a trade before next week's NBA draft, Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported Saturday citing sources.

Beal is five years older than Tatum, but the two both grew up in the St. Louis area and long have been friends.

The duo was set to represent Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics alongside Warriors star Draymond Green, before Beal was ruled out after landing in COVID-19 protocols just before the team departed for Japan.

"I was upset," Tatum admitted Thursday morning in a press conference after Team USA arrived in Tokyo (h/t NBC Sports Boston). "This was going to be a great opportunity for both of us (playing with each other).

"Unfortunately not going to be able to happen, but looking forward to competing out here and winning a gold medal and making sure we have an extra one for him."

Beal would prefer landing in an "established winning environment," per Fischer's reporting. The 28-year-old doesn't have an established wishlist of destinations, but Fischer reported, citing league sources, that Beal would "welcome joining teams such as Boston, Golden State, Miami or Philadelphia."

RELATED: Report: Warriors not 'quite willing' to gut roster for Beal

The Warriors' stars have spoken to the front office about using the team's two lottery picks to acquire a proven starter, and have Beal atop their potential targets list if he requests a trade, The Athletic's Marcus Thompson reported last week.

A Boston offer for Beal likely would include Jaylen Brown and a handful of first-round draft picks. While the Warriors don't have a young player as valuable as Brown they're willing to offer, Golden State does potentially have more draft picks to dangle than the Celtics would.

All of this is quite preliminary, as no one has reported Beal officially making any kind of trade request to the Wizards.

There's no question that the Warriors, Celtics and many other NBA teams will be lining up to inquire about Beal's services with Washington's front office.

Whether he'd want to land with Tatum and the Celtics, or the Splash Brothers in the Bay Area, remains to be seen.

With five days until the 2021 NBA Draft gets underway, smokescreen season is in full effect around the league.

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