He may be traded or bought out, one thing is for sure he is no longer wanted in the Valley.
The unsettling news that the Phoenix Suns have not played in the postseason since 2020 has left many fans soured on the year. That said, the finger-pointing and blame game have gone on all year. Now, with no hopes in play, everyone is picking on the mistakes that sent us here.
Thursday, I released a piece detailing two of the terrible trades that led the Suns to this spot. Today, we will dive into one of those acquired players, Bradley Beal.
Beal was brought in to provide the extra ounce of offense this team felt they needed with Chris Paul and Landry Shamet not playing to their contract value. Only if they knew the same mistake would be made in trying to get off those “bad contracts.” The Suns are now stuck with their own terrible $50 million no-trade-clause contract, which can be stated as the worst in the association.
With no hope or direction for this team, it scrambles to move off the albatross contract that they thought would solve the team. For Beal, an Arizona insider has stated and doubled down on the fact that Bradley Beal will not be returning to the Valley following next season.
Now Gambo did not specify how this would be done, but only three avenues exist:
- The Suns Trade Bradley Beal
- The Suns stretch and waive his contract
- The Suns buy out the remainder of his deal
Neither of the outcomes is ideal for both parties, but it must be done for the Suns to escape the hells of the second apron and its restrictions on the team. While trading Beal also may be the hardest out of the three, it gives the Suns an easier way out of this deal. That should be the Suns’ main priority with his contract, and we will explore some teams who could be interested in what the Suns offer.
0 Percent Chance! https://t.co/z0RkJy1FyT
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) April 10, 2025
Bradley Beal’s New Home?
As we all know, Beal wants to be on a contender and wants to win. With his contract and restrictions even in the first apron, it would be difficult for him to land on one. That is why if Beal is traded, he would have to accept his no-trade clause to a team willing to invest in him, similar to Phoenix. That said, teams like Milwaukee, Denver, or any other contender he thinks he will help will not be trading for him. They would rather bring him in via buy-out, which seems like the result we will land in.
If the Suns are able to orchestrate a deal, though, here are some teams I’d keep an eye on.
Washington Wizards
Who says no to a reunion… right? The Wizards this season showed that by building through their young core, attaching some veterans will help. With Washington having contracts like Jordan Poole and Marcus Smart, those two could be combined to get Beal off this team. Once again, those names are not flashy, but that is the last thing Phoenix needs: another big name. The best part, too? Smart is on a one-year deal, and Poole is on a one + one, meaning the Suns could clear the books the following season, and they have 50 million in freed-up space to retool.
Not to mention that Smart and Poole’s value is represented in their contracts. You cannot say the same for Bradley Beal. The only issue is whether Beal wants to go back. Most likely not, but seeing a winning culture in Washington brewing with a new front office may intrigue Beal to return.
Why would Washington do it? Well, adding Beal to replace Poole’s offense could help to start. With the Wizards still having a top-tier pick this year, they would find another young talent to pair alongside their fun core. Bub Carrington could be the secondary offensive ball handler, while Beal could start but mainly run the second unit, something he found some success doing here in Phoenix once getting moved to the bench.
Chicago Bulls
A team that always wants to stay competitive and rebuild? Is this the Suns of the East? I would argue yes, so why not have Beal competing on a team that wants to show that? Beal could be another scoring punch alongside rookie Matas Buzelis and young guards Coby White and Josh Giddey. With the Bulls looking better without LaVine, they may still try in a weakened Eastern Conference, and Beal is someone who could add to that.
The only difficulty is, why would Chicago do this? As I mentioned, they have young guards in Coby White and Josh Giddey who play better than Beal. Would they not want to invest in them? With Giddey’s recent explosion, many feel he may warrant more than Chicago can offer. They also have the contracts to trade for Beal even if they bring back Giddey. By sending a combination of Kevin Heurter, Zach Collins, Nikola Vucevic, or Patrick Williams, you could get to the price of $50 million. Is this a deal that is even fair or one they would consider? That is up to Chicago to decide for its future.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors, similar to the Bulls, do not want to rebuild. They want to win, and that was clear when they traded for an injured Brandon Ingram at this trade deadline. He struck on his low value and will do that with other stars. Who is to say they won’t for Bradley Beal? For the Raptors to do this, they would have to send out Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl for the contracts to work.
This is not a fair trade as the Suns get more value back and may have to throw in a rookie to get the deal done. Quickley would add some much-needed scoring with Poeltl being the center the Suns need for defense and rebounding. Not the best fit trade, but at least you are off the contract.
Why does Toronto do this? Like I said, they want to win and compete. They ultimately could win the lottery and feel that Flagg is their center for the future. With the addition of Ingram, many speculate that wing R.J. Barrett could become available. While I think it is far-fetched for him to be traded for Beal, a center could be obtained if they fail to land Flagg with Barrett’s contract. This, added to Quickley’s injury history this year, could have caused the Raptors to want a veteran win-now player on the team, even if he has injury issues himself.
Atlanta Hawks
Once again, there is a trend with these middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference teams. They all want to compete. The same story is true for Atlanta, which is chasing a high that Suns fans are familiar with, returning to their highest point. The Hawks made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 but have failed to reach that mountaintop again, just like us. With their young core now being the face, led by Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson, people have become curious about Trae Young. If the Hawks fail to make the playoffs, I could see this unraveling even faster than anticipated.
With the Hawks looking to move off a big contract and stay relevant, why not do a three-team trade and take back Bradley Beal? Whatever the third team sends goes to Phoenix, with the Hawks getting all this draft capital and Bradley Beal.
For Phoenix, yes, it is unclear who comes in return, but one you’re willing to take to get off this contract. For Atlanta, it allows them to be still relevant, but if injuries do occur, they have picks to fall back on. I also believe a tall. A lengthier wing lineup hides Beal’s defensive obstacles, which the Suns could not do since they had no defenders. A lineup of Daniels-Beal-Risacher-Johnson-Okongwu would bring out the best of Beal, and similar to Washington, he could run the secondary unit as a point guard. Something that Atlanta has not had with Trae Young. Not to mention Keaton Wallace, their now backup is an excellent defender who would work well with Beal on that secondary unit.
At the end of the day, the Suns can no longer employ Bradley Beal after this season. The move has caused too much turmoil and has set the franchise back since making the deal—not at Bradley’s fault but at the fault of the two front offices that orchestrated it.
Listen to the latest podcast episode of the Suns JAM Session Podcast below. Stay up to date on every episode, subscribe to the pod on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podbean, Castbox.
Please subscribe, rate, and review.