CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Bradley Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein’s familial ties to the Phoenix Suns’ front office. Bartelstein is the father of Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein.
On Sunday, June 18, reports broke that Washington Wizards star guard Bradley Beal waived his no-trade clause to head to the Phoenix Suns, joining a star-studded roster including Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton.
Though the deal is not finalized and may take a couple of days to complete, Beal preferred the Suns to other potential offers in Miami and Milwaukee, among other destinations.
The tentatively accepted trade offer of veteran guard Chris Paul, guard Landry Shamet and a combo of second-round picks and swaps for Beal and prospect Jordan Goodwin, is the current deal.
Wizards leadership would like to keep Paul, but he may end up rerouted to a third team such as the Clippers, possibly bringing the Wizards additional young talent and draft capital.
Beal is leaving the Wizards 160 points shy of the all-time record, currently held by Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes.
With Beal’s gargantuan contract off their books, the Wizards are now poised for a full rebuild. Some of their most valuable assets include this year’s eighth overall draft pick along with star forward Kyle Kuzma and big man Kristaps Porzingis, should they choose to re-sign with the team. Kuzma is poised to be a free agent and is likely to command a strong salary in this year’s free-agent market and Porzingis has a $32 million player option that he is likely to accept, keeping him in Washington at least for this season.
Some say this will not solve some of the issues that have caused Phoenix to falter in this year’s playoffs.
“When Booker and Durant weren’t able to put up eye-popping numbers, Phoenix did not have the depth or the defense to keep up with the eventual champs and were bounced out of the playoffs in the second round,” according to the Bleacher Report. “Adding Beal, as good as he is, doesn’t seem to be the type of move that could raise the team out of its current situation and lead them to a title.”
Beal, while one of the best mid-range shooters in the NBA at 47.6% on 212 attempts, has not played more than 60 games since the 2018 season and has been criticized for his effort on defense. His contract will put the Suns over the luxury cap, reducing their ability to trade or sign additional talent to shore up their bench depth. Goodwin, who showed outstanding promise in limited time with the Wizards this season, will provide solid bench defense for the Suns.
It is widely acknowledged that this trade was essentially a salary dump that did not net many returns for the Wizards, but that will give time and space for a rebuild and developing potential players while holding significant cap flexibility in upcoming years for potential free agent signings.
The Father’s Day trade also lent itself to Twitter jokes, with many pointing out that Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein is the father of the Suns’ new CEO Josh Bartelstein, who has made it clear that he wants to bring stars to Phoenix.
