Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns have hit an impasse.
The three-time NBA All-Star was recently moved to the bench and has been included in various trade rumors. Trading Beal, who’s averaging 17.8 points per game — his lowest mark since the 2015-16 NBA season — has its complexities for the Suns, as he’s 31, in the third season of a five-year, $251 million deal, has a no-trade clause and hasn’t played 60 games since the 2020-21 season.
On the other hand, Beal is still efficient, shooting nearly 49% from the field and nearly 40% from distance this season.
However, if Beal is to waive his no-trade clause, here are three potential trade fits for Beal.
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3. Orlando Magic
Orlando is getting Paolo Banchero back and waiting on Franz Wagner to return from his oblique injury. Once they have both back on the floor, Banchero, Wagner and Beal would be a potentially dynamic scoring trio.
Orlando has plenty of youth that could possibly foster a blockbuster trade. What the Magic could use is a veteran to supplement their core, namely Banchero and Wagner. Beal would most likely serve as Orlando’s tertiary source of offense, providing a proven and well-rounded scorer to an offense that’s last in the NBA in scoring (105.2 points per game as of Jan. 8).
The Magic could eye Jonathan Isaac and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in a trade to the Suns for Beal and a future second-round draft pick. Phoenix gets two immediate rotation players, while Orlando upgrades its offense. Orlando could acquire Beal and still have the ammunition to make another mammoth move. Granted, that move would likely have to be acquiring a player on a rookie deal or one who’s on a team-friendly contract.
At the same time, the Magic might prefer to let Jalen Suggs — who’s averaging a career-high 16.4 points per game — get healthy (back), continue to progress and make a move for a younger star in the offseason.
2. Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler, who wants to be traded by the Heat, reportedly has interest in joining the Suns.
With Miami, Beal could immediately plug into its starting five, attempting to fill the scoring void that Butler’s departure would create. While it is fair to argue that one would take Butler over Beal, the latter would be the best player the Heat could realistically acquire in a Butler trade.
Beal and Tyler Herro would serve as a lethal scoring duo for the Heat, while Bam Adebayo potentially takes the reins as the new centerpiece. Moreover, Beal fits in with a retooling effort, as opposed to a rebuild, which is what Miami likely prefers to do should it indeed move Butler.
One scenario could see Miami send Butler and Alec Burks to Phoenix for Beal and a series of second-rounders. The worst-case scenario for the Suns is that Butler declines his $52.4 million player option for next season, and Phoenix gets that money off its payroll.
The issue with a Suns-Heat trade? Finding a financially sound proposal that provides Miami with something of value outside of Beal without sending several players to Phoenix and creating a trade that ends up doing little for either side. Plus, the Suns have minimal draft capital to offer given their 2023 trade for Durant, which saw them trade four first-round draft picks, among many other assets.
So, which team makes the most sense for Beal?
1. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are on the rise, and Beal could be the player that takes them to the next level.
Victor Wembanyama is a star; Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell are respectable perimeter scorers; rookie Stephon Castle has had his moments; Julian Champagnie is coming into his own. These are all great developments/individual situations for the Spurs, but another high-level scoring option is needed if this team is going to make a jump from a play-in tournament team (as of Jan. 8, the Spurs are 18-18 this season, good for the ninth seed in the Western Conference) to a contender in the next two years.
Beal would become San Antonio’s No. 2 scorer, as well as its most proven scorer upon arrival. With Wembanyama stretching the floor and doing a little bit of everything and the bulk of the Spurs’ perimeter players hoisting up 3-pointers, Beal can play to his strengths, that being playing with aggression and attacking the rack.
Beal was traded to a team where he could at-best be third fiddle to Durant and Devin Booker. With San Antonio, Beal would be a veteran complement to a promising core and emerging superstar. This move could get Beal’s career back on track and get him back to playing more like the Washington Wizards version of Beal that dominated.
San Antonio could send Harrison Barnes, Zach Collins and Tre Jones to Phoenix for Beal and a second-rounder. The Suns get three rotation-caliber players, and the Spurs move on from a trio of players whose days in San Antonio are likely to only last so much longer without trading a first-rounder.
Beal’s contract is a hefty one to absorb, but he’d give San Antonio an offensive boost that could shoot it up the West standings in due time.
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