There have been rumors lately that the Bucks might be interested in taking on Bradley Beal as part of a larger trade that would send Heat forward Jimmy Butler to the Suns. However, NBA insider Chris Haynes says in a Twitter video that Milwaukee hasn’t contacted Phoenix at all to ask about a potential Beal trade.
“It was explained to me that a connection between the two is nonexistent,” Haynes said, “so if Phoenix is able to acquire Jimmy Butler, it would not come via the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the star guard.”
If the Bucks aren’t involved, it could become very difficult for the Suns to find any team willing to accept Beal’s contract, which pays him $53.7MM next season with a $57.1MM player option for 2026/27. That’s a huge financial risk for a 31-year-old guard whose scoring numbers have declined during both of his years in Phoenix and who hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season since 2018/19.
Beal also has a no-trade clause in his contract, which means he has the right to reject any deal the Suns make. He recently stated that no one from management has reached out to him or his agent to discuss a possible trade.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 states that he hasn’t heard of any teams that have expressed interest in acquiring Beal, and there are only “a select few” places that Beal would be willing to go (Twitter link).
As a second-apron team, Phoenix can’t take back more salary than it sends out and can’t aggregate players to match Butler’s $48.8MM deal. Miami reportedly isn’t interested in Beal, partially due to the no-trade clause, so at least one more team will have to get involved to facilitate the trade.
Phoenix made a trade with Utah on Tuesday, acquiring three first-round picks in exchange for its unprotected first-rounder in 2031. There has been an expectation that the Suns would use one or more of those picks to incentivize someone to add Beal, but they may be saved for other trades if there are no takers.
Beal would make a perfect fit back in Washington.
I see what you did there…
Beal is a better player currently than Jimmy imo but his injuries and contract make it tougher for a team to take him.
He’s definitely not better than Jimmy right now.
I think an argument can be made that Beal is better than a Butler who isn’t even trying on the court right now. But that will change once he starts playing instead of just drifting around the court. But that is an awfully big qualifier lol
Can we stop calling Beal a “star” guard, anyone considered to have one of the worst contracts in history isn’t a “star”.
*insert team name here* hasn’t contacted the Suns about Bradley Beal…
LOL !!!!!!
Only in the NBA where a player can make $57M per and no one blinks. And barely play half the games.
Such a weird turn of phrase. We all blink, it’s involuntary.
True. I think it infers shock. I
I’m not surprised. The Bucks perimeter defense is such a weakness that it is hard to imagine them making a deal that doesn’t help there…and swapping out Middleton for Beal most certainly would not help their perimeter defense.
The Bucks just need more rest when they can. Start Middleton again. Start Pat Con.. at SG in spot minutes.
Move AJ Johnson to PG
Trade Delon Wright some 2nds for a better backup PG
Waive Ryan Rollins and Stanley Umude
Sign a SG and C prospects(20-21) on two way contracts. Then they have young players at all 5 positions to develop