Bradley Beal Respects Suns' Decision to Waive Him

The Phoenix Suns made a major financial decision to move on from Bradley Beal this offseason after a very underwhelming two seasons from him in the Valley.

Phoenix elected to waive and stretch Beal's contract and will owe him $19.4 million per season over the next five years even while he's on a different team, which will also count toward the Suns' salary cap.

Beal had his first press conference with his new team, the Los Angeles Clippers, at the team's media day Monday, and discussed the end of his tenure with the Suns.

"At the end of the day, Phoenix made a decision that they were going to move in a different direction. I can't do nothing but respect it," Beal said. "And I found a situation that was little bit more beneficial for me, and I'm excited about where I am now."

Bradley Beal Appreciative of Way Suns Ended Things

The Suns took their time in making the move to waive Beal, as it came a couple weeks after the start of free agency and after they had already traded away Kevin Durant.

During this waiting period, Beal searched for his new home, as it was reported as soon as Phoenix waived Beal that he was joining the Clippers, where he will likely slide in as the team's starting shooting guard after the departure of Norman Powell.

"It was a process. For one you definitely respect Phoenix and appreciate them, because they helped get everything done and the communication was pretty straightforward, so I'm always appreciative of that." Beal said.

"And it wasn't easy at all. It wasn't an easy decision, because many teams made that push and made their run and made their pitch, and it came down to the wire about where I wanted to go, who I want to be, what situation I want to be a part of. (The Clippers) in particular stuck out a lot."

Beal's time in Phoenix was very rocky, and it made for a very awkward time during the 2024-25 season when he was constantly involved in trade rumors that would have landed the Suns Jimmy Butler despite Beal having a no-trade clause.

This did not end up happening, and Phoenix, even with Beal and Durant on the roster next to Devin Booker, missed the playoffs for the first time in five years with a 36-46 record.

"This business, it's no different than any any other year. I mean, (there's) trade talks every year," Beal said. "I was in D.C. (with the Washington Wizards) for 11 (years) and every single year somebody was trying to move me out of D.C.

"So it's no different. Every year, somebody's going to say where they think you should go or what team should make a move. Like it's very opinionated, but that's the landscape of the business."

Suns owner Mat Ishbia previously explained why Phoenix decided to move on from Beal.

“On Brad Beal specifically, it was, ‘Hey, he doesn’t fit in here. Let’s let him go do good things in his career. We wish him nothing but the best. But we’re going to build around a different identity here and Brad Beal is not part of that going forward,'” Ishbia said to Arizona Sports in July.

Ishbia later added that Beal "handled (the buyout) like a gentleman and a professional that he is," and that he was nothing but appreciative for his time in Phoenix.

The 32-year-old Beal will now look to find his footing in the league once again with the Clippers and already has a big goal upon the start of his tenure with LA.

"I hope I can finish (my career) here," Beal said. "That's the end goal, something (Clippers president Lawrence Frank) talked about. So hopefully, obviously, you gotta continue to produce, and continue to lead this team to wins, and the future will take care of itself."

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