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Bradley Beal to Clippers: Fantasy Basketball Fallout

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Erik Ong | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 9:51 AM ET

The Bradley Beal shoe finally dropped on Wednesday. He agreed to terms on a buyout with the Phoenix Suns and will reportedly sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. This was a long-expected move, but it was not too easy to execute for both the Suns and Beal’s representatives. In the end, they got it done, and Beal now joins a stacked Clippers squad. LA has been active this offseason, working towards building a roster capable of making a legit run at the title. However, with all this accumulation of talent, fantasy basketball values will undoubtedly be impacted.

Bradley Beal to Clippers: Fantasy Basketball Fallout

The Clippers signed free agent Brook Lopez, adding a talented stretch five with championship experience. They also traded for John Collins, who is coming off a solid season, despite being shelved by the Utah Jazz, who were “rebuilding” (tanking). They had to bid farewell to Norman Powell in the process, but ultimately, the Jazz needed to bolster their frontcourt.

Here’s the Clippers’ projected starting five and their fantasy values in 9-cat scoring last season. Rankings are taken from hashtagbasketball.com.

The Lineup

Starting Five

PG: James Harden (9)
SG: Bradley Beal (87)
SF: Kawhi Leonard (34)
PF: John Collins (30)
C: Ivica Zubac (41)

Key Reserves: Brook Lopez (66), Kris Dunn (161), Derrick Jones Jr. (227), Bogdan Bogdanovic (211), Amir Coffey (261), Nicolas Batum (296).

Between the Clippers’ starters, plus Lopez, that makes six players inside the top 100 in fantasy basketball last season.

Harden put together a resurgent season, and Zubac had himself a breakout campaign, delivering memorable performances on both ends of the floor. For context, Leonard started the season injured, and this opened up the doors for both Harden and the now-departed Powell to shine. They both thrived as the one-two scoring options for the Clippers. Zubac played his part and became an unstoppable force in the paint.

Unfortunately, Los Angeles might just be “too good” to trust in fantasy this season. There’s not enough ball to go around for everyone to get their fill of touches and opportunities to shine. Leonard is having himself a healthy offseason. This will be the first time in a while that he will be able to focus on preparations for an upcoming season instead of recovering from an injury.

Harden will no longer need to score as much, which should be beneficial for maintaining or improving his 8.7 assists average in 2024-25. His 22.8 PPG will be another story. We could see that slide down to 20 or less in 2025-26. He’s still a great source of key guard stats (points, threes, assists, and steals), so Harden should be a safe-ish pick in the second round of drafts.

Mar 11, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) and Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden (1) react during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Beal Could Do More Harm Than Good in Fantasy Basketball

Beal is coming off a failed attempt to be part of Phoenix’s Big 3, which included himself, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker. He’s also been quite the injury-prone player, playing 53 games or fewer in each of the last three seasons. Beal’s recent body of work is a far cry from his prime while he was with the Washington Wizards. But on a potent squad like the Clippers, there will be no need whatsoever for him to do any heavy lifting. This could result in him falling outside of the top 100 in per-game value.

Beal’s addition also hurts the likes of Collins, who was in line for a larger role, at least one that was bigger than what he had with the Jazz last season. After Harden and Leonard, Collins and Beal will have to compete to be the third scoring option.

The ball scarcity is real, and this will trickle down and hamper Zubac from replicating his high-end performance from last season. Even though he’s got the starting center job locked up, Lopez is too good to sit on the bench for long. Collins is also capable of playing an undersized five when the Clippers decide to run a small lineup on the floor. Zubac could see his numbers fall to the point where he would slide outside the top 50. It’s a notable, risky potential outcome that fantasy basketball managers should consider on draft day.

The Reserves

Lopez has been a perennial sneaky pick in fantasy, thanks to his ability to deliver threes and blocks with low turnovers. But he’s been a mainstay in the Milwaukee Bucks’ starting lineup since he developed the three-point facet to his game. Coming off the bench for Los Angeles will not do his outlook any favors. His fall from grace will be steep and hard. Lopez is now a late-round flyer pick in standard leagues.

Both Batum and Jones Jr. were able to see some streaming value in 2024-25. That was when they were splitting time at the four position. Collins will eat up most of those minutes this season, leaving them with a lot less playing time to work with. Batum and Jones can be left undrafted in standard leagues.

Dunn was a sneaky source of steals. He’s the primary backup to Harden right now. As long as the Clippers don’t add more depth at PG, then Dunn can retain streaming value for a boost in that category.

Bogdanovic is not going to be relevant in standard leagues at this rate. He will need one of the guys ahead of him on the depth chart (like Beal) to get injured.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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