The painful reason Suns won't be able to ditch Bradley Beal (it's not the no-trade)

The Phoenix Suns are an organization that is going through a transition, and it is one that fans hope can result in them getting back to contention as soon as possible. With Kevin Durant looking likely to head for the exit door this summer those plans are very much in doubt - but as long as they have Devin Booker - then they have a chance.

The Suns are also likely going to have Bradley Beal next season as well, thanks to the combination of his no-trade clause and the fact his family seem to have settled well in The Valley. When you're getting paid a lot of money to do what you love - and you can keep your loved ones content as well - making a move is very difficult.

Phoenix still represents Beal's best chance to win big.

Taking those factors out of the equation - and as hard as it might be to actually believe - the Suns will continue to represent Beal's best chance to actually win big as he exits his prime. Consider that up to this point - and going back as far as the trade deadline - the team that drafted him in the Washington Wizards have been the only franchise to show any interest in trading for Beal.

Given he has two years left on his current deal - and is owed over $100 million - it is not hard to see why pretty much everybody would want to pass on the 31-year-old. But even if they didn't and a rebuilding team could be convinced to take Beal's contract on - although the Suns don't have any assets to attach to such a trade to get it over the line - Beal would quickly veto such a move.

That's because despite the last two seasons ending in a sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves - with some recent measure of revenge for that one - and not even making the play-in this time out, Booker and Durant are easily the two best teammates Beal has ever had. Even if you take Durant out of the mix, walking away from Booker would mean less of a chance to win.

Like so many All-Star level players in the league, Beal hasn't had a lot of postseason success. He has appeared in 49 playoff games - with only four of those happening in Phoenix - and has never made it out of the second round. In fact he's only gotten that far twice, and the 30 points a night scorer he was earlier in his career in Washington has largely gone missing in the postseason as well.

Only once across a five game stretch in 2020-21 has Beal averaged 30 in a playoff series, and that was nowhere near enough as his eighth seeded Wizards lost in five to the Philadelphia 76ers. All of which is to say, it is never going to get any better for Bradley Beal than it is right now for him with the Suns.

There's even a chance he will get to start once again if Durant leaves, and he's going to be given the ball plenty when he's on the court to make something happen offensively. We know that won't lead to a deep playoff run - but when the reality for Beal is a situation where he is even further away from a chip such as the Wizards - he is never going to willingly go anywhere else.