Bradley Beal enters health and safety protocols

The Washington Wizards have placed Bradley Beal in the league’s health and safety protocols, ruling him out for Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is Beal’s second stint in the health and safety protocols, and he reportedly has received the COVID-19 vaccine after being a notable holdout when the season started.

This is not great timing for the Wizards for two reasons. The team is in the middle of the conference now after a hot start, and needs every game it can get to stay out of the play-in tournament portion of the bracket. The other is the upcoming trade deadline, which will be centered around guys like Beal. He’s a star in this league, and those don’t come around often. The Wizards have been able to hold onto him for a long time but it seems like the unrestricted free agent might want out and Washington would like something back for him if that’s the case.