Bradley Beal Expected To Waive No-Trade Clause If Traded To Lakers, Heat, Or Nuggets

The Phoenix Suns have made it clear that they want to move on from Bradley Beal by announcing his demotion to the bench a day before their game tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers. The franchise hopes to deal Beal and create the space to land Jimmy Butler, but Beal's no-trade clause allows him to veto any trade including him.

Suns insider John Gambadoro has revealed that Beal is willing to waive his no-trade clause for specific franchises, noting that he has more room for flexibility than just these three destinations.

"As for Beal the no-trade looms large. He could have went to Milwaukee before he ended up in Phoenix but that was turned down. Have heard he would waive no trade for LA, Miami, or Denver but I do believe there are a few others that he could ultimately decide work for him."

There is no way to imagine Beal being on any of these three franchises.

The Los Angeles Lakers do not have the disposable contracts to get up to Beal's $50.2 million deal. In addition, they would nuke their team's depth for years to come by making a Beal move so the franchise won't even make a slight attempt at landing the overpaid Suns star.

The Denver Nuggets will have to endure major salary cap pain to make a Beal acquisition possible. It'll cause them to part with Michael Porter Jr. and Zeke Nnaji along with additional assets just to match Beal's salary. With Jamal Murray's inconsistent offense already on the roster, the Nuggets would be foolish to add Beal to that mix as well.

The Miami Heat could have had Beal in prior years if they were just willing to acquire him and his contract. They've never shown interest but if they were to agree, Beal likely would be rushing to play for the franchise. Unfortunately, they have no interest in his salary and a no-trade clause, closing the door on a potential acquisition.

If the Suns want Butler, they likely have to find a third team for Beal, but even young teams with cap space like the Detroit Pistons have little interest in acquiring Beal right now.

"Lots of talk about Detroit being a 3rd team for Beal. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me as to why they would want him but have to do some more digging. They have cap space but young team on the rise so unless heavily incentivized no real reason. Still need to do more work on that."

Beal is averaging 17.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists this season. Hopefully, he can rebuild his value off the bench, but the Suns are sending him a message. He's no longer wanted on the franchise and they're trying to get him to not throw around his NTC to stop potential deals by making him as uncomfortable as possible in Phoenix.