Bradley Beal will join the Phoenix Suns four months after the franchise made blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant; Suns were knocked out of NBA play-offs by Denver, costing head coach Monty Williams his job with Frank Vogel appointed as his replacement
Monday 19 June 2023 19:59, UK
Bradley Beal will soon be part of the NBA’s newest Big Three, after the 29-year-old agreed to be traded to the Phoenix Suns and team up with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
In return, the Suns agreed to send Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and a package of future second-round picks to the Washington Wizards.
The deal was a complex one and took time to unravel as Beal waived his no-trade clause to be sent to the Suns. There was a chance that the trade could eventually include a third team, particularly if a franchise wants to acquire Paul, but the basic framework is done.
The deal was struck less than a week after the Denver Nuggets topped the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, with the Heat having also spent the last few days working with the Wizards on the possibility of acquiring Beal.
It is the second major acquisition for owner Mat Ishbia in Phoenix. He landed Durant for a massive combination of players and first-round draft picks just days after formally taking over the Suns in February.
There are now three active players in the NBA with at least 500 games played while averaging at least 22 points per game, and Phoenix has them all in Beal, Durant and Booker. They will make about £101m ($130m) combined next season, meaning the Suns will pay a ransom in salary and tax for this title shot.
The Suns will be different for it this coming season; Frank Vogel is succeeding the fired Monty Williams (who is now in Detroit) as coach, Paul will no longer be the starting point guard who is still searching for his first championship, and Durant and Booker will have a training camp together for the first time, with a third elite player in tow.
Beal's numbers speak for themselves. Starting with 2017-18 - Beal's first All-Star season - he's averaged 26 points per game. That's 10th-best in the NBA over that span.
He's been an All-Star in three of the six seasons since and made All-NBA in 2020-21, when he finished second in the scoring race for the second consecutive year.
He's entering the second year of what could be a five-year, £196m ($251m) contract; the last of those years is at his option and would pay him £47.5m ($57.1m) Over the next four years, he's owed about £161.5m ($207.7m).
Chris Paul was on a plane when he learned about his reported trade to the Washington Wizards on Sunday, with the 12-time All-Star was on his way to New York for an appearance on "Good Morning America."
"I was surprised, too," Paul said on the show Monday. "In this league, anything can happen, so you just try to find out what's next."
What's next for Paul is up to the rebuilding Wizards, who could trade him or waive him. The latter move would make him a free agent and free to sign with any team.
Paul averaged 13.9 points, 8.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals across 59 starts for the Suns in 2022-23.
