The Phoenix Suns are in the midst of an impressive roster overhaul this offseason, and already have secured three incoming rookies as part of the seven-team, Kevin Durant mega trade that landed him with the Houston Rockets. Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks are also headed to The Valley, as the front office moves away from the Kevin Durant era.
Bradley Beal is still with the franchise - although depending on who you believe - there could be some resolution on that in the coming days. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports believing that there could be an update on Beal's future as soon as Tuesday. That no-trade clause making the 32-year-old virtually impossible to move.
Suns have to stick with Beal for remainder of his contract.
Although the numbers are ugly, Beal has only two years at a whopping $110 million left on his current contract. The two ways they can cut ties with him without trading him are to either Beal being bought out of his contract and stretching it - in which he would have to give back over $13 million as a result of previous Suns buyouts on Nassir Little and EJ Liddell - or else waiving him altogether.
In the stretch scenario, the Suns would have to carry a cap hit for the next five seasons, just like what the Milwaukee Bucks recently did with Damian Lillard. With the other waive option, Phoenix would have Beal's full salary on their books for the next two seasons - just like he was on the team - before coming off. In this scenario they would at least open up another roster spot.
But with the Suns clearly re-tooling around Devin Booker, why would they carry this Beal mess with them for the next five seasons? By that point they might even be contenders again, and would need every dollar possible to take advantage of that opportunity. Yes they would get under the second apron this summer if they did this - but again - what is the point in that?
It would save owner Mat Ishbia some money - and the shock Myles Turner deal has shown us that owners love doing that when they can - but Ishbia has always said he will do what it takes to build a winner. If his wallet takes the enormous hit, fans aren't going to care. Better to just ride this thing out for two more seasons, while the team are getting their youngsters to grow anyway.
"When it comes to pure toughness, all you've gotta do is watch one game." - General Manager Brian Gregory pic.twitter.com/FQFiLb9BGU
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 6, 2025
The other alternative of letting him go but still having his salary count against their cap would be a solution if Beal was creating problems, but to be fair that hasn't been the case. Both he and his family are happy in Phoenix, and when he's healthy he suits up for the team. So paying him to go away doesn't make any sense either.
Who knows, Beal might even grow into the role of veteran leader for the young guys on the team, and salvage his time in The Valley in the process. The only way there needs to be any panic here is if Booker wants Beal gone so that the re-tooling process can get kicked up several gears, although it is unclear how that would even happen.
That hasn't been Booker's style to this point, so why not have Beal come off the bench for about 25 minutes across 60 games a season, and give Booker a break? It won't solve the Suns' point guard dilemma, but waiving Beal wouldn't do that either. Just ride this thing out for two more seasons - no longer trying to take shortcuts to success - and the Suns will be right back on track.