Suns could take drastic measures to ensure Bradley Beal doesn’t return next season

When Matt Ishbia officially bought the Phoenix Suns in February 2023 and stated he would do everything he could to have a winning team, it seemed like a team that featured Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Chris Paul would be seriously competing for a championship in no time. After swapping Paul for Bradley Beal, a younger star in his prime coming off multiple All-Star campaigns, in the following offseason, it seemed like they were in prime position to win it all.

Fast-forward two years, and the Suns are in a worse position, currently on the verge of missing the Play-In, and at the end of this trio's time together. As suggested by Evan Sidery, the franchise could employ CBA trickery to expedite Beal's exit from Phoenix.

Even though numerous players have been labeled as "untradeable" throughout the years because of their level of play declining and their contracts not being cheap, they've all eventually been moved. Whether it was Chris Paul at the end of his Houston Rockets run, Russell Westbrook when he was on his supermax deal, or even Al Horford when the Philadelphia 76ers signed him to a massive deal.

However, Beal's stands on its own: he has injury history (he's only played at least 60 games once in the past six seasons), the ninth-highest salary in the 2024-25 season, still has two years left on his deal (including a player option year) valued at around $110 million, has regressed, and is one of ten players in NBA history with a no-trade clause. Beal has expressed being open to a trade, but with all those factors at play, the market for him has been quiet.

How did we get here with Bradley Beal?

If someone had told me in November that the Suns would be on the verge of missing the playoffs, I would've called them crazy. It seems like a while ago, but Phoenix got off to a franchise best 8-1 start this season, with Durant and Booker leading the charge along with some great shooting by their supporting cast. The Mike Budenholzer hiring seemed to be paying massive dividends. However, Durant suffered a left calf strain in a game at Dallas, the Suns went 1-9 without Durant over the next month, and they couldn't recover after that.

It would've helped the Suns chances if, during that time, Beal would've stepped up offensively to make up for Durant's absence, especially considering they've never been able to get stops with this core. But, he missed 10 games himself during that span, and when he did play he wasn't a max contract caliber player (17.7 points and 3.1 assists on 50 percent shooting and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc, while being a minus-3.9).

Through the ups and downs, Beal was even moved to the bench (one of many moves made by Budenholzer to try to turn the season around), and was actually playing better in that role (16.8 points and 4.1 assists on 52.9 shooting and 40.7 percent from beyond the arc, while being a minus-1.5), yet the Suns didn't get much better at winning games, and he was eventually moved back to the starting lineup anyway, due to injuries.

He hasn't been fully healthy for a while now, missing games or not playing 100 percent when he doesn't, and maybe his role hasn't been maximized with how the Suns have depended on Durant and Booker. But time is limited for Phoenix, with Durant being 36-years-old and with one year left on his contract, and Booker entering his prime on a max deal. They can't just wait and hope Beal gets healthy, and if he can get back to the star level he had reached from 2019 through 2023. It would be wise to use that money on other pieces.

Does releasing Beal for nothing make sense?

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't make sense to plainly waive a player that cost six second-round picks and four first-round pick swaps to acquire. Then again, the options are limited when that player is on a max salary and a no-trade clause. Even if the Suns have draft capital to make a possible deal tempting, no team would want the Beal contract, added on with the uncertainties of his on-court play. Thus, the approach of releasing him seems like the most reasonable outcome.

While they would still pay his salary under this outcome, it's less of a hit per year that gives them flexibility to still try to win now. The Cleveland Cavaliers employed this tactic in the past, and while they're not in as dire of a financial hell as the Suns are, it's an example of the flexibility helping them form the best team possible. Judging by Ishbia's prior remarks on not wanting to rebuild this team, they're going to need all the wiggle room they can get to make this work.