The Phoenix Suns have emerged as a “serious threat” to trade for Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Beal has a no-trade clause and the right to approve or deny a trade he is included in. The Miami Heat are also contenders to land Beal, Charania reported.
The pathway to Beal could be tricky. He just completed the first year of a five-year, $251,019,650 contract. Beal is due $46,741,590 for the 2023-24 season.
If the Suns trade for Beal, he, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant would be making a combined $130.4 million, which includes incentives, according to Spotrac, this season. The NBA salary cap is projected to be $134 million, according to The Athletic. The luxury tax line is set to be $162 million.
It is important to note the second apron, which was introduced in the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, is $179.5 million. It will go into effect for the 2023-24 league year, which starts July 1. If the Suns pass that, they will lose out on the mid-level exception, be banned from including cash in trades and unable to accept more salary in a trade than the team sends out. The Suns would also be forced to fill their roster out with players on minimum contracts.
Phoenix would have three prolific scorers, but it would come at the cost of being unable to add more quality depth. The Suns got terrific performances out of Booker and Durant in the 2023 playoffs but struggled to get contribution from their bench rotation.
Beal has a connection to the Suns. His agent is Mark Bartelstein, who is the father of Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein.
Beal would be a player who could hit 3-pointers off the catch, create his own shot and be a playmaker. It is unclear how he would fit around Booker and Durant given the Suns do not have a point guard set in stone for this coming season.
Here is a trade the Suns could pursue for Beal.
Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and a second-round pick
The Suns have serious advantages in a trade for Beal. The star guard's no-trade clause means he will likely only approve a trade to a contender. It also gives the Wizards zero leverage in pursuing a trade they might feel is better.
The Miami Heat can offer a better deal and more draft capital. But the appeal of playing with Booker and Durant seems to be greater than that of the Heat with forward Jimmy Butler and center Bam Adebayo, even though they made the NBA Finals.
The Suns have to match Beal's salary in order to make this work. Starting point guard Chris Paul will be guaranteed $30.8 million if he is not waived by June 28. Backup guard Landry Shamet is owed $11 million this year, so a trade including him, Paul, and perhaps a future second-round pick would be best for the Suns.
In this case, Phoenix could also keep center Deandre Ayton. He could be used in a trade for other assets, including a sign-and-trade for Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, as “The Timeline” podcast host Mike Vigil pointed out.
This would be the best-case scenario for the Suns. But if Ayton is included in the trade, the Suns would need to take another player to make salary-matching work. One of those players could be forward Daniel Gafford.
Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia has been aggressive since he assumed majority ownership of the Suns in February. He traded forwards Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder (who later went to the Milwaukee Bucks), four unprotected first-round picks and a pick swap for Durant and forward T.J. Warren. He fired coach Monty Williams two days after the Suns' 2022-23 season and hired Frank Vogel, who won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
It is very unsurprising Ishbia is pursuing Beal, which could work to the Suns' benefit since Beal has control over where he goes. If Phoenix can get Paul off the books and throw in Shamet for salary-matching purposes, that would be their best-case scenario to get Beal and then find a way to move Ayton for more pieces.
Follow Us
Subscribe