Bradley Beal's Agent Downplays Suns Trade Rumors Involving Lakers, Heat, Nuggets

Bradley Beal's agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic on Wednesday that any reports suggesting his client would waive his no-trade clause to accept trades to the Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat or Los Angeles Lakers were "created out of thin air."

He added that Beal has "worked very hard to earn" a contract with a no-trade clause, which is "of tremendous value." He also noted that "the part of the business that every player dreads is having no control over his future when it comes to trades, and so the fact that we have control of that aspect of Brad's career is something that is extremely precious and is an asset that we certainly would never want to relinquish."

"Having said that, I never operate in terms of absolutes, meaning that we would never say there would never be a trade that you would not consider," he continued. "You always keep an open mind like everyone does in all aspects of their life, and so if something was to come around that you were truly excited about, you always have to consider those things."

Beal has remained the subject of trade rumors and the Suns appeared to be prepping for a potential trade on Tuesday after trading their 2031 first-round pick to the Utah Jazz for three conditional first-round picks in 2025 (the worst option between the Cleveland Cavaliers or Minnesota Timberwolves pick) and both 2027 and 2029 (the worst between Cleveland/Minnesota/Utah).

Before that deal, the Suns only had access to their 2031 first-rounder and the Denver Nuggets' 2025 second-round pick in trade talks. Tuesday's deal doubled the amount of picks they could move in trade talks.

That doesn't mean a potential blockbuster is on the way, with Jimmy Butler continuing his campaign to be dealt out of Miami (though per ESPN's Shams Charania, the Suns are reportedly on Butler's wishlist alongside the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors). Any deal for Butler would need to include Beal, either going to Miami or a third team, and that would mean Beal signing off on the situation.

Which means the whole thing is... complicated.

But once the Suns decided to move Beal to a role off the bench earlier in January, it seemed as though a divorce was potentially in the cards. The 31-year-old is averaging just 17.1 points per game this season, his lowest mark since his sophomore 2013-14 campaign.

If Beal decides he doesn't want to be moved, well, that's the end of the story. But at this point, there may be better basketball situations for the three-time All-Star.