Bradley Beal to Sign 2-Year, $11M Clippers Contract After Agreeing to Suns Buyout
Bradley Beal's time with the Phoenix Suns has come to an end after two seasons, and he is set to join the Los Angeles Clippers.
Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Beal will sign a two-year, $11 million contract with the Clippers after agreeing to a buyout with the Suns.
Beal had two years and $110 million remaining on his contract, including his $57.1 million player option for 2026-27.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic first reported on July 3 that Beal and the Suns were discussing a buyout, with Phoenix looking at scenarios to get under the second apron.
Rankin noted at the time the Suns were just over $10 million above the second apron.
Beal's situation was extremely complicated not only because of the full no-trade clause in the contract. Finding a potential trade partner would have been difficult enough due to the money he was still owed, but his control over where he could go only added to the Suns' dilemma in trying to move on.
Given that there was virtually no way for the Suns to get back anything close to the value they gave up to acquire Beal from the Washington Wizards, including four first-round pick swaps from 2024 to '30, simply moving on is probably in the best interest of the franchise.
The Suns have made it clear they will do everything to build around Devin Booker. That was reinforced when they gave Booker a two-year, $145 million extension on July 9. Beal was a sunk-cost for the organization and they found a way out, albeit by paying a lot of money for him not to play for them.
In return, Beal gets to go to a team that he wants to play for that is a ready-made playoff contender.
Even though Beal may not have been worth the contract he was playing on, he was far from a bad player. The 32-year-old averaged 17.6 points on 50.5 percent shooting (40.7 percent from three) and 3.7 assists per game in 106 appearances with the Suns.
For a team that didn't have a lot of resources available to make changes to the roster, the Clippers have done a good job where they can. They were able to bring back James Harden in free agency to ensure the offense maintains a high ceiling.
Trading Norman Powell did take a key piece of the puzzle out of the equation, but the addition of John Collins was a savvy move to pair him with Ivica Zubac in the frontcourt after relying on Nicolas Batum in the playoffs.
Adding Beal and Collins to replace Powell's production could be a boost to the offense without clogging up their future cap space.
Powell, who was very good overall in 2024-25, did slow down as the season went on. He averaged 14.4 points on 43.1 percent shooting in 15 games after the All-Star break. Some of those struggles can be attributed to knee and hamstring injuries.
If Beal only gives the Clippers what Powell was doing after the All-Star break, he will be a great value addition to a club that was one win away from defeating the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
