Washington Wizards finally traded All-Star guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns, per ESPN. Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple picks, and pick swaps will go to the Wizards. Paul is expected to be traded again to the Los Angeles Clippers. Beal joins Booker, Durant, and Ayton in Phoenix, making it an all-in move for the championship. Beal’s 11-year run in Washington ends with four years and $200 million+ left on his contract. He was drafted in 2012 and became an All-Star player, averaging a career-high 31.3 points in the 2020-21 season despite battling injuries.
Yahoo Sports: Report: Wizards trade Bradley Beal to Suns in deal involving Chris Paul, Landry Shamet
Chris Cwik; June 18, 2023
After years of rumors, the Washington Wizards finally traded All-Star guard Bradley Beal. The team will send Beal to the Phoenix Suns, according to EPSN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The trade will send Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and pick swaps to the Wizards, according to the report.
The Wizards are expected to reroute Paul in a trade, too, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. The Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly interested in a reunion with the 38-year-old.
Beal will now join Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton in Phoenix. All four of them boast max contracts to the sum of $163 million between them for the 2023-24 season. With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement aiming to severely limit roster flexibility for teams above the second luxury tax apron ($117 million), this is Phoenix’s all-in move for a championship.
The trade comes roughly a year after the Wizards signed Beal, 29, to a five-year, $251 million extension. That extension also included a no-trade clause, which Beal waived to join Phoenix.
The deal was an “extremely complicated process with so many different hurdles to get through,” according to Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein via Wojnarowski.
In an interesting Father’s Day storyline, Bartelstein is Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein’s dad.
Despite the difficulty of the move, Beal’s 11-year run in Washington is ending with four years and $200 million plus remaining on his contract.
The team drafted Beal with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Beal showed plenty of promise early in his career, making the NBA’s All-Rookie team after averaging 13.9 points during his first season in the league.
After a few solid years, Beal took his game to another level during the 2016-17 NBA season. He averaged 23.1 points and led the Wizards to a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Beal maintained that production moving forward, and made the All-Star team in three of his next four seasons, averaging a career-high 31.3 points during the 2020-21 NBA season.
Beal has battled various injuries since then, though has remained an effective player when healthy. He missed time during the 2021-22 NBA season due to COVID-19 and a wrist injury. Beal was limited to 50 games last season with foot, hamstring and knee issues. Despite those injuries, Beal averaged 23.2 points over the past two seasons.
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