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After paying a fortune for Kevin Durant at the 2023 deadline only to fail to lift their second-round ceiling, the Suns effectively exhausted their remaining assets to bring Bradley Beal to the desert and theoretically complete basketball’s next Big Three.
The cost was significant—Chris Paul, four future first-round swaps and six second-round picks—though some could have argued it was reasonable for a three-time All-Star.
That’s a factual description of Beal, though he was last an All-Star in 2021 and hadn’t booked a trip prior to that since 2019. His numbers had been coming down before the deal, while his absences were piling up and his salary was skyrocketing. He also inexplicably held what was the league’s only no-trade clause, an embodiment of the leverage he once held over the Washington Wizards.
The risk was enormous, but the Suns swore it was the rest of the league that was really in trouble. Turns out, the problems were (predictably) on Phoenix’s side.
Beal struggled staying healthy, the stars did little to elevate the others and the clearance-priced supporting cast struggled to provide adequate depth. The supposedly superpowered offense was merely decent (10th in efficiency), and the stars’ shared minutes were really good but not great (plus-6.6 net rating, would’ve ranked third).
Phoenix didn’t hit the 50-win mark in the regular season or the one-win mark in the playoffs. Coach Frank Vogel was sent packing, trade winds swirled around Durant, and Beal would be caught in the same speculation if not for that absurd no-trade clause that Phoenix somehow let him retain.
The Suns are over the second apron, meaning there are almost zero avenues toward any kind of external improvement beyond breaking apart the stars, which their decision-makers say isn’t happening.
Beal was a curious choice for this club from the start. Beyond the complications of his contract and injury worries, his game made for an awkward on-paper fit with Durant and Booker, all of whom do their best work on offense (often with the ball in their hands).
The Suns would never admit this publicly, but give them a chance to reverse the Beal trade, and they’d take it in an instant.
