More Than 20 NBA Teams Showed Interest In Bradley Beal, Who Chose Clippers After Being Recruited By James Harden

More than 20 NBA teams showed interest in Bradley Beal after the guard got bought out by the Phoenix Suns, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. 

Beal decided to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers after getting recruited by James Harden. 

“More than 20 teams showed interest, sources said,” Windhorst wrote. “Eventually Beal met, via Zoom, with half a dozen teams about how he might fit with them. … But the key voice came from James Harden, who lobbied the Clippers’ front office to chase Beal and then reached out to him directly to make the sale, sources said.

The Clippers are expected to start Harden, Beal, Kawhi Leonard, John Collins and Ivica Zubac next season. 

LAC lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in seven games. The franchise has never been to the NBA Finals. 

Beal played in 53 games for the Suns last season. He averaged 17.0 points while shooting 49.7% from the field, 38.6% from beyond the arc and 80.3% from the free-throw line. 

Meanwhile, Harden appeared in 79 games for the Clippers in 2024-25. He averaged 22.8 points and 8.7 assists while shooting 41.0% overall, 35.2% from 3 and 87.4% from the foul line.