Bradley Beal is probably on his way out

He’s gone” says Suns’ insider John Gambadoro as Bradley Beal era nears its end.

Maybe you’re still mourning the end of the Phoenix Suns season. Sure, there are two games left on the schedule, but with the team officially eliminated from Play-In contention, the curtain has already fallen. Maybe you could use a reason to smile because, let’s be honest, this season hasn’t offered many. If that’s the case, I’ve got something for you.

Local Suns insider from Arizona Sports 98.7 John Gambadoro stated on his show yesterday that, “There’s a zero percent chance that Bradley Beal is back on this Suns team next year.”

That’s enough to make the corners of my mouth turn upwards.

This isn’t just some random voice shouting into the void. This isn’t the incoherent ramblings of a guy at a bus stop yelling at pigeons. This is Gambo. The same guy who broke the news of Penny coming to Phoenix. The same guy who told us Nash was heading to L.A. before the ink dried. He’s not just plugged in. He’s the socket. They don’t call him ‘The Reaper’ for nothing. If you’re clinging to hope, he’s the one who’ll step in and slice through the delusion with a swift dose of reality.

So when Gambo says Bradley Beal won’t be here next year? Yeah. I listen.

The Bradley Beal experiment in Phoenix has been nothing short of a catastrophe. From the moment he arrived, he brought with him the same playoff résumé he had in Washington: one absent of meaningful wins. In two seasons with the Suns, the team has failed to win a single postseason game. Not one.

Beal has suited up for just 105 of a possible 162 games — barely 65% — and in that time, he’s averaged a modest 17.6 points per game. This season? Just 16.9. That ranks 77th in the NBA. To put that in perspective, he’s tied with Deni Avdija (Portland), Keyonte George (Utah), and De’Andre Hunter (Cleveland). Combine the salaries of those three, and Beal still earns $8.8 million more than them.

This wasn’t supposed to be a gamble. This was supposed to be the third piece. Instead, it’s been diminishing returns wrapped in a max contract.

And while I’ll give the necessary disclaimer — that the frustration lies with the player, not the person — it’s hard not to smile at the idea of Bradley Beal packing his things and heading elsewhere next season. The thought alone brings a strange sense of relief, like finally pulling a splinter you’ve been pretending isn’t there.

The mechanics of how that departure could happen are murky. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a waive-and-stretch provision isn’t on the table. “Waived money cannot exceed 15% of the salary cap,” Marks informed me. “So for Beal, he could not be outright waived and stretched.”

But a buyout? That’s feasible, albeit costly. The Suns would have to swallow a mountain of money, and Beal would have to agree. It’s complicated, but not impossible. And as Gambo told me, “Where there is a will, there is a way.”

“He would have to take 25-30M off what is owed him,” Marks stated. “You can only waive and stretch in that type of scenario. Cap hit for 5 years has to be in the $15-16M range. You just have to be careful with taking on more dead money.”

“He’s gone,” Gambo said. “He takes less. Makes it up on a new deal with another team. Someone will give him 2/25 or 2/30.”

So essentially, if the Suns decide to buy out Bradley Beal, they’ll be footing the bulk of the bill. Yes, it’s financially painful. But that’s the tax you pay for poor decision-making. And yet, it’s possible. Painful, but possible.

If the organization chooses that route, there’s a silver lining: it could pull them beneath the dreaded second apron next season. That means flexibility. That means options. That means breathing room for a front office that’s spent the last year choking on its own ambition.

It also means subtraction by liberation. No more duplicative fit next to Devin Booker. No more ceiling clipped by redundancy. No more wishful thinking wrapped in a max contract.

With a mountain of decisions looming — trades, picks, staffing, philosophy — the Suns must weigh every option. And if one of those options is cutting ties with Beal? Then do it. Let this team move forward. Let this organization regroup. Let this fan base, bruised and battered, begin the long process of healing.

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