NBA INSIDER: “No Rush” For Bradley Beal Buyout From Phoenix Suns

NBA INSIDER: “No Rush” For Bradley Beal Buyout From Phoenix Suns

All right, here with Fred Katz of The Athletic. Fred, uh, you’ve had some unbelievable work this summer already. What have you made of the Suns, uh, progress though this off season? You know, I think they’re very much in a transitionary period, still waiting on what’s going to end up happening with the Bradley Beal buyout situation. If that gets done, I think there’s optimism on both sides that it it will get done and be will end up getting waved and I imagine they’re going to end up stretching that money, find a way to get out of the luxury tax for this year. uh their team is going to be very different. No Kevin Durant, Mark Williams coming in. I could see them trying to do something with Nick Richards maybe because they have the extra centers now with the Malo uh acquisition as well. Uh but they’re just going to be a very different team. Any sense on what kind of the holdup has been with the Bradley Beal situation? I think there’s not a huge rush just because there’s not that much else going on in the league. I think there’s probably a little bit of talk about money in certain spots from what I’ve heard. He’s got to give up $13.8 million in order for them to be able to stretch the money because of a weird arcane CBA quirk that I don’t need to explain right now because we’ll be here all day if I do. So, I think there are just some pretty regular speed bumps that I don’t think will deter anything from happening. And I if one side says we think it’s going to happen and the other side says we think it’s going to happen, there’s a good chance it’s probably going to happen. The Suns would like to move on from Bradley Beal. Bradley Beal knows he’s not wanted by the organization. I think he’d like to get somewhere where he is wanted and feels valued. And I imagine that both sides will find a way to make sure that happens. Yeah. Never easy to give up $13.8 million. But uh speaking of contracts, Devin Booker obviously inked the uh large extension the other night. What was kind of your read on it from a league perspective? The money is just huge now. It’s hard. hard to get over. I’m not saying it’s a bad contract for Booker. Deon Booker is a great player and if you’re going to extend Deon Booker, you got to give him his max extension. And that’s what it is. The cap is rising like crazy. But I just think it’s so jarring to see $145 million over two years and have that be somebody’s salary. It is so unbelievably jarring, but I was fine with them making that extension. It it it makes sense for Booker. He secures his future. It makes sense for them. they secure having an awesome player on their roster moving forward. But they’re going to have to find a way to build around him because this is a team that won 36 games last year that struggled defensively at times that really was not good when Kevin Durant didn’t play. Like when Kevin Durant played they had a winning record. They were a solid team when Kevin Durant played and he was their crunchtime offense. And when Durant was out, they had nothing. And they’re gonna have to figure out how to play with Jaylen Green, how to play with Dylan Brooks, how to play with Deon Booker, obviously is much more of a lead guy. They’re once again, I feel like the Suns always either have too many point guards or not enough point guards. It’s either like Booker and Beiel have to share point guard duties or they have Gor Drag and they have Isaiah Thomas and they have Eric Bledo. Like it’s always the Suns have too many. They don’t have enough point guards that’s just good. It’s the Goldilocks point guard theory. Uh and and so I think they got to figure out exactly how they’re going to facilitate their offense cuz they have guys who can create their own shots, but they don’t necessarily I mean Booker is a very good passive risk position, but I don’t know if he’s like your natural lead facilitator every second. So I think they got to figure some of that out, too. Ironically enough, the guy that put together that Bledo Dragic and Isaiah Thomas lineups right behind us right now. Uh, anything big coming up on The Athletic that you want to plug uh with your work? No, not really. It’s kind of a quiet time. I’ll probably at some point coming up have a have a story on uh the best under the radar moves from the off season. You know, not not a Kevin Durant trade or or a or a Miles Turner signing, but some of the under the radar stuff that people aren’t talking about as much and and dive into that. And otherwise, you know, it’s kind of the quiet time for the league. Well, Fred, it was a pleasure. Thanks so much. Yeah, thank you for having me.

NBA Insider Fred Katz joins Espo from NBA Summer League in Las Vegas to discuss the latest with Bradley Beal and other major storylines from the Phoenix Suns and around the NBA in a crazy offseason.

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