Bradley Beal's Best Shot at Title is with Bucks, Not Clippers, amid NBA Rumors

Bradley Beal appears on the verge of splitting from the Phoenix Suns.

It sounds like he might have his next NBA destination in mind, too—it just isn't the place that should top his list of landing spots.

With Beal working on a buyout agreement with the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Clippers "are likely the leaders to sign the guard," per The Athletic's Law Murray, Dan Woike and Fred Katz. Beal "has also considered" the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.

It isn't hard to tell imagine why the Clippers are holding pole position.

They have a win-now roster that has won 50-plus games in back-to-back seasons. They have more than minimum money to spend (up to $5.3 million). They also have a glaring void at shooting guard after trading Norman Powell for power forward John Collins.

Just as Beal did in Phoenix with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, he could slot in as an uber-efficient third option alongside James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. Only, since Harden has dialed up his distributing and Leonard has availability issues every season, Beal could have a heavier offensive diet, which might appeal to the three-time All-Star who once averaged 30-plus points in consecutive campaigns.

The L.A. market sells itself, too. And Clippers governor Steve Ballmer isn't shy about opening his deep pockets to support this franchise.

You get what Beal might see in this group.

He could still do better by bouncing over to the Bucks.

Sure, they only have minimum money available, but he'll get close to nine figures in his buyout from Phoenix, so the difference feels—relatively speaking, of course—negligible.

For absorbing that financial hit, Beal would take himself out of the gauntlet that is the Western Conference and head back to an Eastern Conference that seems as wide open as ever.

The Cleveland Cavaliers remain unproven in the playoffs. The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers could be without Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, respectively, for all of next season. The New York Knicks absorbed all of the uncertain elements of making a coaching change. The Philadelphia 76ers were an injury-riddled mess.

There is no obvious team for Beal to fear in the East, especially when he'd have two-time MVP and perpetual best-player-on-the-planet candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo on his side. And with Myles Turner now alongside Antetokounmpo, Beal might have as much defensive protection in the frontcourt as a 32-year-old, offensive-minded guard could want.

He also should have access to as many offensive opportunities as he cares to handle. Outside of Antetokounmpo and the since-waived Damian Lillard, the only two Bucks who averaged double-digit shots this past season were backup big man Bobby Portis and deadline pickup Kyle Kuzma, who averaged seven shots in 20.4 minutes during the playoffs.

Because Milwaukee split from Lillard and used the flexibility to add a center, this roster is begging for an offensive boost in the backcourt. Beal is more than capable of providing that. While his reputation took major hits in recent seasons, that had everything to do with his contract (which features both a bloated salary and, inexplicably, a no-trade clause) and nothing to do with his ability.

For as rough as things went for the Suns collectively over the past two campaigns, Beal still found his way to 17.6 points on 50.5/40.7/80.8 shooting and 4.3 assists against 2.2 turnovers. He's a legitimately high-end offensive option who can operate with or without the ball in his hands, run pick-and-rolls and score from every level.

The Bucks would be fortunate to have him. He'd be lucky to have them, too.