Reported Wolves target Bradley Beal signs with different West contender

Despite their interest, the Minnesota Timberwolves will not be adding Bradley Beal to their roster for the 2025-26 season. Beal finalized a contract buyout with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and agreed to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

There had been previous reports that the Wolves were interested in Beal, the former three-time All-Star Washington Wizards guard whose two-year Suns tenure didn't go to plan. That was confirmed by Charania in his story on Wednesday.

"Personnel across several other teams — including the (Miami) Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers, sources said — pursued Beal and had extensive conversations with him and (agent Mark) Bartelstein in recent weeks," he wrote.

It feels fairly notable that the Timberwolves had interest in signing Beal. Then again, why wouldn't they? The 32-year-old remains a capable scorer, and because he's getting paid substantial money by the Suns on his buyout, he was willing to accept a very inexpensive deal with a new team. The Wolves could've used Beal as a key rotational guard off the bench, even if that isn't a glaring need for them.

With that said, the Clippers always felt like the logical landing spot for Beal after they traded Norman Powell to the Heat in a three-team deal that brought them John Collins from the Utah Jazz. On paper, this Clippers team — which lost to the Nuggets in the first round as the No. 5 last year — looks quite dangerous, health pending.