The Phoenix Suns would love to move off of Bradley Beal.
That has been clear for some time now. It was a calculated gamble at the time that they traded for him, knowing that his contract was an albatross but trusting in his talent level to elevate him -- and the Suns -- higher than the other options available. If they had to pay an exhorbitant luxury tax bill to do so, so be it.
Then the new CBA hit, locking in punitive team-building measure on top of the financial charges. Beal did what many expected him to do, which was to struggle to be the third banana and suffer a myriad of nagging injuries. The Suns have been a colossal disappointment the last two seasons.
They would love to move off of Beal, ideally to use his contract to bring back another star-level player. Team owner Matt Ishbia is not one for rebuilds; he wants win-now players to give his team a shot every season.
That's easier said than done with Bradley Beal, who is owed $111 million over the next two seasons. There are very few teams in the NBA with the ability and willingness to absorb his $53.7 million salary for next season.
In fact, there may just be one -- making Beal's next team increasingly clear.
Bradley Beal's next team will be the Washington Wizards
At last year's Trade Deadline, the Suns shopped around Bradley Beal and found that the market for him was not merely tepid, it was frozen solid. Beal's contract was not a mechanism to land Jimmy Butler or any other star they made eyes at.
Yet in the midst of their efforts, one team name was floated as a possible landing spot for Beal: his former team, the Washington Wizards. They are deep into a years-long rebuild and are led by front office executives who cut their teeth with Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder -- the kings of taking on veteran contracts during a rebuild for assets.
The cost to move Beal to the Wizards was likely sky-high at the Trade Deadline, and the Suns could not afford to both move off of him and pay another team for their star. They still likely cannot do that this summer, but perhaps Beal's negative value has decreased enough to make some sort of deal possible.
The Wizards could be the third team to take on Beal's contract in a three-team trade where the Suns land their target. That is possible but perhaps a bit of a pipe dream given the Suns' limited assets. Such a trade likely only opens up if they use asses from a Kevin Durant trade to move on from Beal.
What is more likely is that the Suns lower their standards and instead search for better-fitting veterans for this team. Beal and Devin Booker have not fit well together; Phoenix could trade Beal for non-star supporting players who can support Booker and either Durant or whoever is brought in for Durant.
The Wizards have a few such players. Khris Middleton has a player option for $33.3 million for next season. Marcus Smart is owed $21.6 million next season. Veteran center Richaun Holmes makes $13.3 million. There are ways to build out a trade for Phoenix to split Beal into multiple playable veterans.
It's certainly not the incredible move the Suns hoped to make with Beal's contract, nor the star-level player they coveted when they first traded for him. Yet the options outside of Washington are incredible thin, if they exist at all.
Bradley Beal may just be stuck on the Phoenix Suns next season. Given that he holds a No Trade Clause, he is in control of any proposed deal.
If there was going to be a team he would be open to joining, however, might it be the franchise where he got his start in the NBA? He likely doesn't want to be dumped on the Utah Jazz or the Charlotte Hornets, but joining a young Wizards team with promise in an organization he is familiar with may just be enough to get him to opt in.
If it's anywhere, it's likely Washington. Yet with Bradley Beal, you never truly know what to expect.