3 reasons the Phoenix Suns were right to trade for Bradley Beal

The Phoenix Suns have now played well over half of their regular season games, and their 34-24 record is a fair representation of where they are as a team. On some nights they look fantastic offensively, and are able to blow essentially any opponent off the court.

Then on other occasions when guys like Grayson Allen and the newly acquired Royce O'Neale aren't firing on all cycliners, the trio of superstars at their disposal don't have the help needed to get over the line against the better teams in the league. Defensively it has largely gone better than expected though, with head coach Frank Vogel getting the most out of a center like Jusuf Nurkic.

Then there is Bradley Beal, who at this point in the season has emerged as undoubtedly the Suns' x-factor the rest of the way.

This is both a good and bad thing, as Beal has been limited to only 30 games played so far this season. Even more worrying, there have been three separate issues that have kept him off the court. The back troubles that hindered him to start the campaign being the worst, followed by a bad ankle sprain and the hamstring issue that he should return from soon.

Yet despite all of this - the Suns were still right to go and get Beal last summer - and there are several reasons as to why this is. The 30 game sample size is still relatively small, but with himself, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant on this roster, they have the potential to go all of the way and win a championship.

3. He was the best available option

Last summer seems like a long time ago now, but at that point in time the Suns had Chris Paul as their starting point guard. As much as the franchise should be thankful for all that he did in helping get them back to contention - he really was that important - the time was right to move on from him.

As a result of his massive contract, and the fact Beal has a no-trade clause and can decide where he gets traded to, the perfect storm created itself and the Suns were able to go out and get a 30-year-old multiple time All-Star in exchange for Paul. He was quickly waived by the Washington Wizards, and now plays for the Golden State Warriors.

He is currently out with wrist surgery - an unfortunately regular occurrence for the player at this stage of his career - which makes Beal's injury issues a wash when comparing the two. Forgotten in all of this is the fact the Suns also got Jordan Goodwin in the deal who, alongside some other players and picks, the franchise turned into O'Neale and Roddy at the deadline.

If not for Beal joining the team, we also would never have gotten point guard Booker on a full-time basis. Which has been a revelation for the Suns, as he is averaging the most assists of his career at seven per game, all while scoring 27.5 points per night. The fit just works in the backcourt, and that is as much to do with Beal as it is Booker.