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NBA: Bradley Beal To Join Clippers Following Contract Buyout By Suns

He will reportedly sign a two-year, $11 million contract with Los Angeles after clearing waivers.

Written by Matthew Gideon
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NBA: Bradley Beal To Join Clippers Following Contract Buyout By Suns

Three-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal is expected to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Phoenix Suns, Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPN’s Shams Charania. Once he clears waivers, Beal is expected to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Clippers that includes a player option during the 2026-27 season, meaning he could elect to become a free agent next summer.

“Bradley Beal, of the Phoenix Suns, has reached [an] agreement on a contract buyout with the Suns. He’s giving back $13.9 million out of his $110 million contract,” Shams Charania said during a Wednesday afternoon appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “He’s giving up some money in this buyout with the Suns, but this now gives him an opportunity to compete for a championship.”

After spending the first 11 years of his NBA career with the Washington Wizards, where he was named an All-Star three times, Bradley Beal was traded to the Phoenix Suns in June of 2023. During his two-year tenure with Phoenix, he averaged 17.6 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 106 games.

The last domino falls for the Suns

This was an expected move in Phoenix. The Suns began their rebuild when they traded away Kevin Durant. They probably tried to trade Bradley Beal, too, but no team was willing to take on his massive contract, so Phoenix had to settle for a contract buyout.

It’s not all bad news in the desert. It’s actually somewhat considerate of Beal to give back $13.9 million. He didn’t have to give the franchise any money. But that influx of cash gives Phoenix a little extra wiggle room to continue rebuilding the team. Beal’s buyout provides the Suns with the financial flexibility needed to start retooling the roster so that the team can compete for a championship as early as next season.

This was the last deal the Suns needed to make in order to move on from their failed Big Three experiment. First, they fired Mike Budenholzer and hired former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott to be the team’s next head coach. One month later, they traded away Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for draft picks and some valuable rotational players. Then, on July 9th, Phoenix signed Devin Booker to a two-year, $145 million extension, ensuring the face of the franchise will be linked to the team through the end of the 2029-30 season. Lastly, the Suns agreed to a contract buyout with Beal, completing the organization-wide overhaul of this team.

With Booker locked in for another four years and the departures of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, the 2025-26 Phoenix Suns are finally beginning to take shape. This is not a squad that will be expected to make the playoffs, but the Suns should be able to at least compete for a spot in the Play-In Tournament. If they can finish with a top-ten record in the West, then it will be a good season for Phoenix. Anything better than that means the Suns’ rebuild is ahead of schedule.

Where does this leave the Clippers?

There are valid reasons to both hate and love this deal. The good news is that the Clippers are acquiring a good offensive player and former All-Star (for an extremely reasonable price) who can help LA improve its 20th-ranked scoring offense from last season. However, Bradley Beal is a known defensive liability who struggled to be the third-scoring option on a team with championship expectations. That’s not ideal for a squad that was known for its defensive prowess last season (fourth in points allowed per game).

Norman Powell, who was LA’s second-leading scorer last year, was traded away to the Miami Heat. Therefore, Bradley Beal is the best shooting guard currently on the Clips’ roster and the de facto starter. That will allow Bogdan Bogdanović and Kris Dunn to come off the bench, where they have thrived as contributors.

As things currently stand, the Clippers are one of the most talented teams in the league. Unfortunately, two of their three most important players are notoriously bad in the playoffs. James Harden has been a postseason dud for years, as proven by the Game Seven stinker he had against the Denver Nuggets, where he only scored seven points on a night shooting two for eight from the field. Meanwhile, Bradley Beal’s field goal percentage, points, assists, and rebounds all fell from the regular season to the postseason the last time he played in the playoffs.

This type of acquisition usually helps push teams over the top, but that doesn’t feel like the case in Los Angeles. Signing Bradley Beal does not make the Clippers a championship team. Beal will help improve LA’s regular-season record. They might even win their first playoff series since 2021. But Bradley Beal and James Harden are not clutch enough to actually help Kawhi Leonard lead this team to the promised land. All this move really does is help Los Angeles sell more regular-season and playoff tickets. It doesn’t make the Clippers a threat to win the 2026 NBA Finals.

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