Bradley Beal appeared on the Wizards Talk podcast Wednesday and told Chris Miller of NBC Sports Washington that he hasn't been thinking about whether he'll sign an extension with the Washington Wizards by the Oct. 21 deadline.

"Honestly you might slap me, but I haven't thought about it," he said. "I'm just getting better and letting my agent, Tommy [Sheppard, the team's general manager] and everybody else deal with it. I just go hoop. Every day I see somebody and they ask, 'Beal, you leaving?' and I'm like 'I'm still living in D.C., I ain't going nowhere.'"

The extension, which would reportedly pay Beal around $111 million over three seasons, would represent a commitment to the Wizards going forward. But if Beal turns it down, it could be an indication that a trade request is soon to follow.

Beal is scheduled to make $27 million this season and $28.7 million in the 2020-21 season before he's eligible to become a free agent. There is no shortage of teams that would have interest in him either as a free agent or as a potential trade chip if he chose against signing that extension, and the Wizards could request a haul in exchange for two seasons of Beal. 

It seems unlikely the Wizards would part with him lightly, but at some point, the team may need to reconsider undertaking a rebuild. John Wall is likely out for the season with a ruptured Achilles, and his massive contract—he's due to make $171 million over the next four seasons—will severely limit the team's financial freedom going forward, making it difficult to build a championship contender. 

Plus, moving off that contract would likely require the Wizards sending out draft picks or young players, whereas moving on from Beal if he doesn't sign his extension would bring back serious draft capital. The Wizards likely wouldn't get the type of enormous trade package that the New Orleans Pelicans received for trading Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers or what the Oklahoma City Thunder received for dealing Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, but they could potentially get something significant. 

A season-and-a-half of the 26-year-old Beal would be very valuable to contenders seeking an added scoring punch on the perimeter. The 6'5", 207-pound guard is coming off an excellent 2018-19 season in which he averaged 25.6 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds on 47.5 percent shooting from the field and 35.1 percent shooting from three.

He'll have his suitors, even if he's tired of hearing about it.

"It's hard to avoid it. I have a phone so I see it all," he said. "I can post a picture of [his 14-month-old son] Deuce and someone will be like, 'Man, he needs some Miami sun!' and I'm like, 'OK?' It's a great thing that a lot of people love your game and want you on their team, but I love the situation I have too."