Clippers' Bradley Beal Frustrations Grow After Yet Another Injury

The Los Angeles Clippers made a big bet on Bradley Beal in the offseason. They moved on from Norman Powell after his career season and replaced him with Beal, with the hopes that the former All-Star shooting guard could recapture his past form and give them more playmaking than Powell. So far, this gamble has backfired in a big way.

When the Clippers acquired Beal, the most significant fear among the fanbase was availability concerns surrounding the 32-year-old. He had missed at least 25 games in each of the last four seasons, and he had to undergo a knee procedure in the offseason. So far, all these fears have proved to be well-founded. Not only has Beal already missed three games and been terrible when he has suited up, but he also just got listed with a brand new injury, per The Athletic's Law Murray.

Bradley Beal Is Questionable to Play vs. Hawks on Monday

The Clippers host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday for their tenth game of the season, and Beal was just listed as questionable with left hip soreness. After injury management due to his knee procedure and lower back soreness, this is the third different injury the veteran SG has had this season.

This follows a disturbing trend for Beal, who has dealt with a long list of injuries over the last few seasons. Just last season, he missed time with injuries to his elbow, calf, knee, ankle, toe, and hamstring. In the 2023-23 season, he dealt with a nagging back injury that kept him out for several weeks at a time.

After a while, these injuries pile on and create other ailments. It seems like Beal has gotten to a point in his career where he can't stay healthy for an extended period of time before another part of his body breaks down. The fact that two of his injuries from this season are related to "soreness" is not a good sign. The ambiguous "soreness" designation suggests potentially nagging injuries that could keep coming back, especially if he plays through pain.

The Clippers obviously have to manage Beal's injuries all season. Even if he bounces back and has minimal injuries the rest of the way, it's almost impossible to imagine him giving as much as Powell did last season to the team. Powell is once again off to a hot start with the Miami Heat and is making the Clippers seriously question their thought process when acquiring the injury-prone and underwhelming-when-healthy Bradley Beal.