Bradley Beal Reportedly Linked to Lakers, Warriors, Clippers Amid Suns Contract Rumors
Bradley Beal could be the next big name to switch teams in the NBA.
Fred Katz of The Athletic reported Monday the guard and Phoenix Suns are working toward a buyout with both sides "increasingly optimistic" it will happen and make him an unrestricted free agent.
Katz listed the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks as "teams Beal has thought about" with free agency potentially looming.
Yet there is still the financial situation to navigate.
Katz explained that Beal, who has two years and $110.8 million remaining on his contract, would need to give Phoenix back at least $13.8 million for the team to be allowed to waive him and then stretch the remainder of his salary over five years and accomplish the goal of reducing the annual cap hit enough to avoid the second apron and luxury tax.
Doing so would give the Suns a dead cap hit of $19.4 million every season through the 2029-30 campaign.
While Beal could, in theory, make that $13.8 million up on the open market as an unrestricted free agent, Katz noted there aren't many teams around the league with the cap space to sign him to that much money over the course of a two-year deal.
As for those teams, Milwaukee can offer a minimum contract, the Lakers can offer $5.1 million in starting salary and the Clippers can offer a $5.3 million starting salary. Golden State could have the full $14.1 million mid-level exception if it trades Jonathan Kuminga away in a sign-and-trade and doesn't bring back any money.
However, that situation continues to remain ongoing with no clear end in sight.
That Beal would be interested in playing for those teams comes as no surprise.
He has connected on 40.7 percent of his triples with the Suns and is someone who can take full advantage of open looks on the outside when opposing defenses are focused elsewhere. With players such as LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard on those rosters, those open looks will be available.
Given the overall star power on those rosters, adding someone like Beal could make the difference as they attempt to realistically compete for a championship. While his stock has taken somewhat of a hit after the Suns disappointed last season, he is still a three-time All-Star who averaged better than 30 points a night in back-to-back seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Perhaps a change of scenery will help him rediscover that form as he pursues the championship ring that has eluded him to this point of his career.
