The Bradley Beal era is officially over in Phoenix, as the three-time All-Star has agreed to a contract buyout with the Suns. Once Beal clears waivers, he plans to join the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year, $11 million deal, with the second season being a player option, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Impact for the Phoenix Suns:
There is no way around acknowledging that the addition of Bradley Beal was a massive failure for the Phoenix Suns. The organization is now paying him $97 million to not play for them and will be forced to deal with the repercussions. Across the two seasons Beal spent in Phoenix, he suited up for 106 games and averaged 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 40.7% from beyond the three-point arc. Before the buyout agreement was made, he had two years and $110 million remaining of the five-year, $251 million deal he initially signed with the Washington Wizards that included a no-trade clause.
There is some financial flexibility brought on by this buyout strategy by the Suns. Officially, they will be using the waive-and-stretch technique similar to what the Milwaukee Bucks did with Damian Lillard. From a salary cap perspective, they cut their tax penalty by $176 million and dropped to $8.6 million below the first apron after sitting $26 million above it before this decision.
But the bigger story is the Suns officially closing a chapter on a failed attempt at roster-building. Phoenix went all-in on the big three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal and has little to show for it as a result. After being swept by the Timberwolves in the 2023-24 playoffs, the Suns missed the playoffs outright last season while paying some ridiculous salary cap penalties. Phoenix already traded Durant to the Houston Rockets this offseason, and Beal now joins him in leaving the Suns.
The Suns will enter a new era as Jalen Green and Devin Booker learn to coexist in the backcourt. Phoenix will also evaluate what it has in its collection of young talent that was brought in this offseason, headlined by Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea. While Beal’s numbers look impressive, there is a case to be made that this is addition by subtraction, with his style never being a match next to Booker and there being fair questions about how Beal truly impacts winning.
It is a loaded Western Conference with each of the top teams continuing to add to their rosters and create the best outlook for next season. Phoenix has slid down the power rankings as a result and is one of the bigger question marks entering next season.
Looking at odds on DraftKings Sportsbook, the Suns hold a season-long win total over/under of 30.5 and hold +700 odds of making the playoffs. They hold the third-worst odds of winning the Western Conference at +30,000 and have the sixth-longest odds of winning the NBA Championship next season.
Impact for the Los Angeles Clippers:
Unlike the Suns, the Los Angeles Clippers are coming off a season in which they exceeded all expectations and are looking to build upon this. After allowing Paul George to leave in free agency, the Clippers went 50-32 in the regular season but lost to the Denver Nuggets in a thrilling seven-game series in the opening round. While a first-round exit is nothing to hang their hats on, the Clippers looked to be a legitimate playoff threat and could have made some noise if the bracket had aligned differently.
Los Angeles set itself up to make this move by trading Norman Powell with John Collins as the primary return. Powell had a career-best season last year in which he averaged 21.8 points while shooting 41.8% from beyond the three-point arc. But with contract extension talks looming at age 32, the Clippers elected to keep themselves flexible for the future.
The lineup on paper is impressive, and it is clear the Clippers are looking to capitalize on a short-term window. Only Ivica Zubac, Cam Christie and first-round pick Yanic Konan Niederhauser are under contract past the 2027 season, when several big-name players will hit the free agent market. Los Angeles has done a nice job piecing together a competitive roster now while keeping its options open in the future.
In theory, this is a team that should be right in the mix in the competitive Western Conference. But unfortunately, the Clippers are plenty familiar with being lumped into the hypothetical category, with age a concern and Kawhi Leonard’s injury history being an X-factor that can rear its ugly head at any time.
Looking at the DraftKings Sportsbook odds, the Clippers hold the seventh-best odds to win the Western Conference at +1400 odds and are tied for the 10th-best odds of winning the NBA Championship at +3000.
Beal is a player worth taking a flyer on, and it is worth noting the Clippers still have the roster space and salary cap flexibility to add another player on a veteran’s minimum. But there are legitimate questions he should face about why things went so poorly in Phoenix. The Clippers will not be as invested in the 32-year-old as the Suns were, but his addition does not drastically change the Clippers’ championship outlook, just as the odds reflect.
