A surprising new suitor emerges for Suns' Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal may be getting a lifeline from elsewhere in the Pacific Division.

The Los Angeles Clippers would potentially have interest in the former All-Star guard if he is bought out of his contract by the Phoenix Suns, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reported on Tuesday. Youngmisuk notes that the Clippers have been opportunistic in the past about adding star guards at a low point of their value (such as Russell Westbrook, John Wall and Rajon Rondo).

Beal, 32, joined the Suns via trade in 2023 but has flopped ever since then. With Phoenix now potentially moving into a rebuild after trading away Kevin Durant, it appears that Beal no longer has a place on the team. Some notable media figures have even predicted that Beal has played his final game with the Suns.

While Beal holds a full no-trade clause that would allow him to veto any deal the Suns agree to, there is a chance that he could agree to a buyout with Phoenix. It would have to be an exorbitant buyout figure since Beal is owed $53.7M next year and has a $57.1M player option for 2026-27. But the possibility is there nonetheless.

As for the Clippers, they are a surprising suitor for Beal since they are already set in the scoring department with the likes of James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell and Bogdan Bogdanovic already in town. But both Powell and Bogdanovic are entering their final guaranteed seasons under contract. That means it would make sense for the Clippers to trade away one, or both of them, for a position of greater need (like power forward) and then picking up Beal for cheap instead.

Beal, a former 30-ppg scorer who averaged just 17.0 points per game for the Suns last season, has had some other few-and-far-between suitors in recent months. But if he goes the buyout route, it looks like the Clippers might be the best situation for him as a competitive (but low-pressure) team in a desirable location.