Agent: Clippers Were ‘Best Fit’ For Bradley Beal Amid Heavy Pursuit

Bradley Beal had no shortage of suitors this summer, but his agent said the Los Angeles Clippers emerged as the most complete fit.

Beal’s longtime representative, Mark Bartelstein, told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda that several teams were in the mix before Beal chose L.A., citing a shared vision with coach Tyronn Lue and the chance to compete deep into the playoffs.

“He was heavily pursued by pretty much everybody in the NBA and certainly almost every top-tier team,” Bartelstein said. “I had made it known in conversations around the league that we were looking to go somewhere where he could play in really big games and big moments.”

Bartelstein added that while Beal could have landed somewhere to reclaim a bigger scoring role, that wasn’t the goal.

“We quickly narrowed down to six or seven teams that we thought were in that world,” Bartelstein said. “At the end of the day, we felt that the Clippers was the very best fit.”

Beal finalized a buyout with the Suns that required him to forfeit $13.9 million of the $110.8 million still owed to him, the minimum necessary to allow Phoenix to use the stretch provision. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Suns officials pushed for him to give up more, but Beal held firm.

“There were some intense conversations,” Bartelstein said.

Beal will join a Clippers core that includes Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, John Collins and Ivica Zubac.