4 NBA Teams Emerge as Likely Bradley Beal Post-Suns Buyout Destinations

Pricey Phoenix Suns shooting guard Bradley Beal, one of many shooting guards on that nonsensical franchise's current roster, is apparently nearing buyout talks with the team.

The 32-year-old's acquisition via a 2023 trade with the Washington Wizards was highly touted at the time by Phoenix, who hoped that pairing Beal with All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker would help the Suns carve out a championship "Big Three."

Instead, that triumvirate proved to be fatally flawed as a tandem team.

Without an elite point guard running the show (the Suns had traded away an aging Chris Paul as part of the deal), and while struggling through chemistry issues, Phoenix strung together a mediocre 85-79 regular season record during its two years with Beal, Durant and Booker together. The Suns also cycled through two head coaches, Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer, each of whom was fired by owner Mat Ishbia after just a year. 

The club made the playoffs in 2023-24, but got resoundingly swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. Phoenix failed to even make the play-in tournament, let alone the playoffs, this past season.

Phoenix and Durant worked out a trade to send him to the Houston Rockets this offseason, effectively ending the experiment. 

Now Beal is looking for an exit plan, too, as rumors persist that he is nearing a buyout of the remaining $110.7 million on his contract. 

The Florida product appeared in just 53 games last season, averaging 17.0 points on .497/.386/.803 shooting splits, 3.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per.