Clippers' Updated Roster, Salary Cap After Bradley Beal's $11M Contract, Suns Buyout

The Bradley Beal saga in Phoenix is over. His time in Los Angeles is now.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Beal has finalized his buyout with the Suns and intends to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, joining James Harden and Kawhi Leonard.

It's the culmination of a strong offseason for the Clippers, who now will boast an impressive depth chart in the 2025-26 season (though adding another option at point guard would make sense):

PG: James Harden / Kris Dunn

SG: Bradley Beal / Bogdan Bogdanovic / Cameron Christie

SF: Kawhi Leonard / Derrick Jones Jr.

PF: John Collins / Nic Batum / Kobe Brown

C: Ivica Zubac / Brook Lopez / Yanic Konan Niederhauser

Before the signing the Beal, the Clippers—who are hard-capped at the first apron—had an active roster cap of $187 million, just $8.9 million below the first apron maximum, per Spotrac. Assuming they used the entirety of their $5.35 million remaining in non-taxpayer mid-level exception money to sign him, they are now around $3.5 million below that first apron threshold.

The Clippers will likely address the need for a backup point guard with a veteran minimum signing. Perhaps Ben Simmons will return on such a deal. Other possibilities on the market include Malcolm Brogdon, Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook—either would be quite the reunion—Cory Joseph and Cameron Payne, to name a few.

But all in all, the Clippers have to be happy with the offseason they've had. While the Oklahoma City Thunder remain the cream of the crop in the Western Conference and the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets feel like the teams most likely to give them a real run for their money, the Clippers are firmly in the third tier of contenders in the Western Conference alongside teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

And if they can get the most out of Beal, they are arguably at the top of that tier.

The 32-year-old never quite found his footing in Phoenix, averaging 17.6 points per game in two seasons with the team, serving as the third option behind Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. He'll be the third option in Los Angeles as well, though Harden remains an elite distributor and Leonard is an injury risk, so Beal's role should naturally be more prominent than it was in Phoenix.

He isn't going to be the player who averaged 30 points per season during his prime years with the Washington Wizards. Age, injuries and plenty of mouths to feed in Los Angeles will ensure as much. But if he returns to the form that saw him average over 20 points per game for the majority of his career, his addition will prove to be a savvy one.