Bradley Beal is mad about being compared to a player the Suns would love to have instead of him

This Mike Budenholzer firing in Phoenix is baffling but it’s also become comical because of one player. Reports have surfaced about a conversation between Bradley Beal and Budenholzer where the coach asked the player to play more like another player. Budenholzer told Beal he wanted him to play like Jrue Holiday, a player Budenholzer coached in Milwaukee while winning a championship in 2021.

"Don't ever disrespect me like that. Don't ever tell me to play like another player" – Bradley Beal’s response to Mike Budenholzer

Bradley Beal is not who he thinks he is

If these reports are accurate, it’s clear that Beal was not happy about being asked to change his game. Which, on the one hand, is understandable but it’s not always what’s said, it’s how it is delivered. Maybe it would’ve been received differently if Budenholzer had approached Beal in another way with his critique. Because that’s all it sounds like Beal heard was, the way he plays isn’t good enough.

And if we’re being honest, for this team, the way Beal plays has not been enough. However, the problem here is, that outside of scoring, Beal doesn’t possess the same skill set as Holiday. The latter actually plays defense and has been damn good at it his entire career. If Beal isn’t giving his team 20-30 points, there isn’t much else.

Beal isn’t a true point guard, doesn’t facilitate like one and hasn’t really shown the capacity to be a team leader. Not for a winner anyway. So, Budenholzer in asking Beal to play like Holiday (if true), was telling him he needed to change everything that got him to the dance. Beal is a scorer and at one point was one of the best (on a bad team) and even won a scoring title in Washington.

What Budenholzer was asking Beal to do was sacrifice a little bit of his game to make the team better and he wanted no part of it. This isn’t surprising because that’s most players. Not everyone is willing to be Chris Bosh with Miami or Kevin Love in Cleveland and be cast as the third wheel. That player usually gives up scoring 20-25 points per game to play a defined role that better fits that squad.

Players who are willing to do this many times come out better on the other end and can say they’ve won at the highest level. Bosh was part of two championship teams with the Heat and Love won one title with the Cavs. When players react like Beal allegedly did to suggestions (especially from their head coach) or advice, it comes off as if they don’t care about winning. That’s the boat Bradley Beal is currently sinking on.