The Washington Wizards have agreed to a deal to send guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns. Washington is expected to get back guard Chris Paul, guard Landry Shamet and several draft picks. Official trade details will likely become clear in the coming days as they are hashed out with exact picks that will be moving.
BREAKING: The Washington Wizards are trading three-time All-Star Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, a handful of second-round picks, and multiple pick swaps, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2023
Suns: A
The Suns made it clear a few weeks ago that they needed to change something about Paul’s contract. Either a waive and re-sign, a trade, or a general contract restructure was expected. They were able to use his contract and Shamet to bring in Beal, who will now be paired with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Phoenix doesn’t have a first round pick and likely will be including No. 52 in this year’s draft in the deal. Yes, they have to now deal with Beal’s cap hit but have an incredible foundation to build around this season in win-now mode.
Wizards: C-
Washington frees up some of the cap space that was earmarked for Beal, but still, this move feels lacking. Yes, the exact pick swaps are yet to be determined, but do they even matter? The Wizards lose Beal and gain an aging Paul and Shamet, who averaged 8.7 points, 1.7 assists and 2.3 assists last year. The island of misfit toys on the roster doesn’t seem like they will mesh well together, and Washington’s rebuild is going to be messy. We may not ever learn what deals the Wizards turned down but it feels like they could’ve gotten more for Beal than they did. The player’s no-trade clause ultimately hurt the franchise in a big way.
