NBA News: Bradley Beal wants to stay with Washington Wizards

A lot has been said and speculated about Bradley Beal's future. The third overall pick from the 2012 NBA Draft is playing his eighth season in the association and given the Washington Wizards' continued inability to make any sort of noise in the East, many wondered if Beal would look for a trade last summer.

That trade didn't happen and he went on to sign an extension. To reaffirm his faith in the franchise, the 26-year-old has now gone on record with ESPN's Marc J. Spears and mentioned that he wants to stay put in DC.

"I hate change. If it happens, it happens. But if I can control it, I will finish in DC...I can sit here and say, ‘Yeah, I can go to Boston, I can go to Toronto, I can go to Miami’...But what would that look like? It wouldn’t necessarily be my team to where now I’m in a situation in Washington where I’m being built around."

Beal also went on to give examples of legends of the game in Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, and Udonis Haslem who have all stayed with a single franchise for a long time.

Bradley Beal's All-Star level season

In the continued absence of backcourt partner John Wall due to long-term injuries, Beal continues to lead the charge for the Wizards. He's averaging 30.4 points per game while shooting at 45.5% from the field and has recorded multiple 50-point outings this season.

He would have easily been named an All-Star this season had it not been for Washington's struggles who are currently ninth in the East with a 22-39 record.