One of the first major dominoes of the offseason has officially fallen.
The Washington Wizards have shipped star guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and multiple picks.
With the move, the Wizards appear to be retooling, while the Suns appear to once again be legit title contenders heading into next season, pairing Beal with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
The 29-year-old Beal — he turns 30 on June 28 — spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Wizards. He has career averages of 22.1 points, 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds. During the 2019-20 season, Beal put up 30.5 points per night, followed by a scoring average of 31.3 in the 2020-21 campaign, establishing himself as one of the best wing scorers in the game.
His scoring has dipped over the past two seasons, partially due to injury. He averaged 23.2 points in each of the last two seasons, only playing 90 games total.
The addition of Beal means that the Suns currently have four players — Beal, Booker, Durant and Deandre Ayton — that will account for $163 million in salary next season. Beal has $207 million left on his current contract.
As for Paul, it was previously reported that Phoenix planned to waive the veteran star. Now, he instead finds himself on the way to Washington, and if he suits up for the Wizards, he will have played for six teams in his nearly 20-year career.
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