Suns' Bradley Beal Apologizes for Viral Frank Vogel Video: 'Nothing Against Coach'

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal explained he was frustrated with himself and not head coach Frank Vogel during Sunday's 122-116 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that ended his team's season.

After the broadcast captured him dismissively pushing away Vogel's hand when the coach offered a high five, Beal told reporters Monday, "I was just frustrated with fouls and I knew I was coming out, it wasn't nothing against coach. Damn, I'm sorry, that probably did look bad. … It wasn't nothing towards coach. There's nothing there."

Despite Beal's comments, the interaction at least raised eyebrows given the noise surrounding Vogel and the team as a whole.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported prior to Game 4 that there is "increasing belief around the league that Frank Vogel's job is in peril if this team loses. Especially as roughly as they might in a sweep."

The Suns did lose in a sweep, and The Athletic's Shams Charania and Doug Haller released a report in the aftermath revealing that players believed an angry outburst from Vogel following a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in April was "forced and out of character" and "left players rolling their eyes" while one said "he had to keep from laughing."

There may be frustration with Vogel, but Beal is correct to express frustration with himself as well.

After all, he was abysmal during the Game 4 loss with nine points, two assists and one rebound on 4-of-13 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 shooting from deep before fouling out. He was a turnstile at times when attempting to guard Anthony Edwards and didn't provide any of the necessary help for Devin Booker (49 points) or Kevin Durant (33 points).

Phoenix had championship aspirations at the start of the season because of that trio, but its lack of depth and overall cohesiveness as a unit showed during the sweep against the Timberwolves.

It may also be fairly limited on roster moves this offseason because of the contracts of the stars, so it could be up to Beal to show significant improvement in 2024-25. It remains to be seen who will be coaching him, but he did stress that he wasn't frustrated with Vogel in particular on Sunday.