It is no secret that the Phoenix Suns had a postseason run to forget in 2023-24, getting swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round. It is unclear at this point what was worse following that hammering, that the Timberwolves would go on to beat the Denver Nuggets in round two and showing that they were that much better than the Suns.
Or that the Dallas Mavericks completely outplayed them in the Conference Finals, which perhaps illustrated that - had the Suns approached that series differently - then perhaps there could have been a better outcome.
In any event it was recently revealed that there was even more bad news to come from that loss, with Bradley Beal revealed to have gotten a small procedure done.
As confirmed by Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Beal opted to have the procedure done on his nose in the aftermath of the series. This should come as no great surprise if you followed Beal's first season in The Valley, as he broke his nose and was wearing a mask for part of the regular season.
There is zero indication that this is either a long-term thing, or something that would be close to troubling him once the team meets up for training camp after the offseason. Beal himself eventually stopped wearing the mask in March, having suffered the injury in a game against the Indiana Pacers in late January. At the time, he had this to say;
"Still have a little trouble breathing out of my right nostril, but I’m good for the most part... it doesn’t hurt. I’ll get my plastic surgery in the offseason."Bradley Beal on nose injury
But as we've already discussed here, this is the kind of injury and subsequent procedure that should worry new head coach Mike Budenholzer. Still only 30-years-old, Beal seems to have moved into a phase of his career where he is always going to have something bothering him.
Bradley Beal looked to brush Frank Vogel's hand away while heading to the bench 👀pic.twitter.com/EpFJomRKu9
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 29, 2024
For a guy being paid over $50 million for the next three seasons, playing 53 games in your maiden campaign with a new team because of a combination of nose, back, knee and hamstring issues is extremely worrying. Even more so when you consider the Suns got great seasons from an injury standpoint out of 35-year-old Kevin Durant, and the oft-injured center, Jusuf Nurkic.
For Nurkic to only miss six regular season games was a minor miracle, while Durant did more on the defensive end than he has in years, and even held up while playing some backup big minutes himself. In defense of Beal - when he was on the court and healthy - he played extremely well for the Suns. He was their best player down the stretch of the regular season.
But given he managed back-to-back 82 game seasons with the Washington Wizards in the past, and the fact he has played 57, 60, 40, 50 and finally 53 games in his last five campaigns, getting his nose seen to immediately after the season ended unfortunately speaks to the bigger problem of having Beal.
Lots of talent, a huge amount of money being paid, but always something holding him back from truly being at his best out there. Perhaps an established point guard on the roster can help next season, while bringing him off the bench down the road may be a difficult - but ultimately necessary - conversation to have. This is a concern though, so soon after landing in Phoenix.