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Suns’ Bradley Beal gets harsh ‘Big 3’ reality check from Bill Simmons

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Jedd Pagaduan | Last updated 4/8/24

The Phoenix Suns entered the 2023-24 season as one of the most hyped-up teams in the association after they traded for Bradley Beal, giving the team yet another high-level shot creator. They already had Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, so adding Beal seemed as if it was a move that could push them over the top in their quest to win a championship. Alas, the addition of Beal hasn’t quite worked to that effect. At present, the Suns have a 46-32 record, barely being in a spot to make the playoffs outright.

Beal has battled through a few injuries throughout the season, hampering his production. He is currently averaging the worst numbers of his career since his fourth season in the NBA.. Thus, veteran basketball analyst Bill Simmons wants to revoke the Suns’ big three status due to the disappointing play of the 30-year old guard.

“The word big three has been thrown around just way too liberally over the past twelve years. That is not a big three, Beal does not deserve big three status the way he’s played this year. I think he’s at a different point in his career, I just haven’t been that impressed,” Simmons said on the April 8 edition of The Bill Simmons Podcast.

Bradley Beal has been the de facto third banana of the Suns’ so-called big three; he is taking the fewest shot-attempts of his career since his third season in the association. But usually, the third cog of a big three provides a different dimension to that of the other two, not do the things the two leading options are best at but at a worse level, like Beal does.

Nonetheless, Beal, despite having more room to impact the game for the Suns, has been quite productive in his first season in the Valley. He is certainly not the Suns’ biggest issue as they look towards mounting a deep playoff run.

Suns’ past demons to haunt them once again?

Last season, the Suns, under the new ownership of Matt Ishbia, decided to go all-in, sending two crucial cogs of the Phoenix team that made the 2021 NBA Finals in Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson, in exchange for Kevin Durant. Jae Crowder also departed via trade after a contentious few months. When the opportunity to trade for Durant arises, it’s not exactly a bad idea to take that opportunity. But it cost the Suns some precious depth.

This lack of depth haunted the Suns in the 2023 NBA playoffs. When Chris Paul went down due to injury in the second round against the Denver Nuggets, the Suns basically became the Durant and Devin Booker. And when those two failed to show up, like in Game 6 of that series, the result is yet another embarrassing way to bow out of championship contention.

The Suns’ decision to trade for Bradley Beal cost them Paul and Landry Shamet, a shooter who thrives off movement. They then dealt away Deandre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen, a move they made to spread the wealth around the roster. Over the past few months, they acquired Royce O’Neale and Thaddeus Young. But Bill Simmons still isn’t sold on Phoenix’s roster construction.

“I don’t think they have a lot of depth, I don’t see it,” Simmons added.

Phoenix’s huge Bradley Beal commitment

Bradley Beal has been, in no shape or form, terrible for the Suns. But for how much Beal is making (an average of nearly $52 million per year) and the fact that they are locked into him for the next four years thanks to his no-trade clause, it’s hard not to feel as though he’s been a marked disappointment.

The situation for the Suns is only getting more dire the closer one looks into it. Beal is not getting any younger, and it’s not like he has a clean track record when it comes to staying healthy. The Suns have no draft picks to spare anymore and they’re staring at a huge luxury tax bill (and they have to re-sign Grayson Allen to a huge contract after his strong season). They’re facing all those problems despite not being among the best teams in the league.

Anything can happen when you have players of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker’s caliber on the roster, but Phoenix will be hoping that they win big and win now for every risk they’ve taken to end up being worth it. Bradley Beal has to play like a $50+ million per year player for that to happen, however, and given how much skillset overlap he has with Durant and Booker, it’s unclear how much more impactful he can be.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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