Bradley Beal’s time with the Phoenix Suns is clearly barreling toward its end, and after the Milwaukee Bucks just addressed their biggest backcourt void, his next destination couldn’t be more obvious even if he screamed it directly into our ears using a megaphone.
He is going to end up with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Hollywood’s Other Team™ has been the clear favorite to land the 32-year-old for some time. That position only strengthened after they flipped Norman Powell for John Collins, increasing their need for someone else in the backcourt who could, you know, actually dribble.
Still, other teams continue to hover around the Bradley Beal derby—including the Bucks. But they just polished off their guard rotation following the addition of Cole Anthony, who became an unexpected buyout candidate once he himself got traded from the Orlando Magic to the Memphis Grizzlies. Though Beal remains the better primary-scoring option, this is a clear indicator Milwaukee doesn’t view itself as a realistic destination. Nor should it. And the same goes for the rest of the market.
Other Bradley Beal suitors can’t offer what the Clippers can
According to Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Minnesota Timberwolves are also in the running for Beal. None of them are going to beat out the Clippers.
Minnesota doesn’t have more than the minimum to offer, can’t really guarantee Beal a spot in the closing lineup, and has two players—Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle—ahead of him in the offensive pecking order.
Golden State’s fit is beyond dicey with Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and potentially Jonathan Kuminga in the mix. Beal’s place in the offensive hierarchy would be hazy, and the Warriors won’t have more than the minimum to offer if, as expected, they keep Kuminga and use the mini mid-level exception on Al Horford.
The Lakers, meanwhile, make absolutely no sense. They can offer Beal the bi-annual exception worth $5.1 million, but he's beyond redundant alongside Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
The Suns are probably rooting for the Clippers
James Harden and Kawhi Leonard could bump Beal down to the No. 3 option if he joins the Clippers, which might open the door for a dark horse. But there is a clean path to him starting, and Leonard’s health bill is checkered enough for Beal to qualify as the No. 2 on plenty of nights—especially when you consider the lengths that the Clippers have traveled to simplify Leonard’s offensive responsibility.
Assuming the Suns still plan to get out of the Bradley Beal business, they should be rooting for this outcome.
Buying him out and then stretching the money left on his deal is the mother of all questionable decisions. Putting nearly $20 million in dead cash on the books for the next half-decade is not indicative of a team trying to contend for anything serious.
Owner Mat Ishbia nevertheless has tons of money at stake. Every dollar Beal earns from another team over the next two years will be offset from the Suns’ luxury-tax bill at the conclusion of each season. So the more he makes, the more Phoenix saves when end-of-year bills comes due.
The Clippers right now have more money to dangle ($5.3 millionish) than any of the other reported options. This might change if any of the aforementioned teams make other moves. For now, though, the Clippers stand alone—as both an excellent fit for Beal, and the realistic suitor who help ease the Suns’ financial burden the most.