The Los Angeles Clippers are expected to sign multi-time NBA All-Star Bradley Beal after the 32-year-old guard completes a buyout with the Phoenix Suns.
According to ESPN‘s Shams Charania, Beal is in agreement with the Clippers on a two-year, $11 million deal that includes a player option in year two. That player option will provide Beal the opportunity to re-enter free agency next summer.
Beal leaves the Phoenix Suns after a calamitous tenure that included two head coaches in as many years, zero playoff wins, and Kevin Durant departing for the Houston Rockets via trade last month.
Beal was acquired by the Suns in 2023 in a deal involving Chris Paul, who helped lead the team to an appearance in the 2021 NBA Finals.
Meant to become the third superstar in Phoenix’s lineup alongside Durant and Devin Booker, Beal was nagged by injuries and was unable to capture the magic that made him a three-time NBA All Star as a member of the Washington Wizards.
He will look to regain his All NBA form as a member of the Clippers, who have also added former NBA Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Brook Lopez, who signed a two-year deal with the team in the opening hours of free agency after a championship tenure as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. Beal is a projected starter at shooting guard for the Clippers after the team traded Norman Powell to the Miami Heat in a deal that netted them forward/center John Collins.
Beal finishes his Phoenix Suns career having averaged 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. He appeared in 106 games for Phoenix, including 91 starts.
The Suns will still be on the hook for the bulk of Beal’s contract, which was widely regarded as one of the worst deals in the league. But parting ways with the former star guard grants the team some immediate financial relief, and opens up the coffers of tradable assets for a team that still believes it can compete in the brutal Western Conference.