Although much has been made by the Phoenix Suns' decision to part ways with Kevin Durant this offseason, a lot less was made of the departure of Bradley Beal. The two years and $110 million owed to him too much for the franchise to stomach, resulting in Beal getting bought out, giving some of the money back and quickly signing with the L.A. Clippers.
The season hasn't even begun over there, and already Beal is surely re-thinking his decision to head to Los Angeles. He wants to win a ring - and although the Clippers were far from the worst choice to try and achieve this a couple of months ago - a lot has changed for them off the court that is surely going to have an impact once the season begins.
Clippers planning on turning Beal into elite defender.
The Clippers held their media day today - with the Suns having already done so last week ahead of a preseason trip to Macau - and their head coach Tyronn Lue had some pretty surprising thoughts on what Beal can bring to L.A. this season. Namely, he believes the 32-year-old can "get back" to being an elite defender once more.
Tyronn Lue says, again, he is trying to get Bradley Beal to "get back" to being an elite-level defender.
— Law Murray ❓ (@LawMurrayTheNU) September 29, 2025
Which is the thing you say to a player that you're not/can't hide on defense and might need to be a point of attack defender to begin halves
Quite what the phrase "get back" means in this instance is anybody's guess, considering Beal wasn't anything close to a good defender in two seasons in Phoenix. About the only positive you could give him on that end was that his quickness - despite all manner of injuries - did not leave him, allowing him to get back into plays when he was blown by. He also has pretty active hands.
But for coach Lue to believe Beal can be an actual asset on that end of the court - considering he wasn't even known for that during his Washington Wizards days - appears incredibly naive. There's no doubt that the fit next to Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac is better than then tandem of Durant and Devin Booker for Beal.
But to expect him to suddenly morph into the kind of player we've never seen him be this late in his career - having struggled so badly to be the third offensive option with the Suns - is laughable. Many gave the Clippers a hard time for bringing in Beal and Chris Paul to go with their own ageing stars, a mistake the Suns themselves made in gutting their depth for known offensive names.
At least Los Angeles does still have some role players who can help, but Beal coming off the bench is not going to be one of them on that end of the court. Could he be an excellent sixth man and give them 20 a night? Sure, and that is the right way to use his talents if he can stay healthy. This isn't the first time Lue has mentioned Beal as a defensive menace, and he's flat out wrong.