BREAKING: Bradley Beal BOUGHT OUT by Phoenix Suns, Will Sign With Los Angeles Clippers

BREAKING: Bradley Beal BOUGHT OUT by Phoenix Suns, Will Sign With Los Angeles Clippers

Well, uh, who could have seen that coming? Psychos and sickos unite for A Bradley Beal is finally bought out edition of PHNX Suns coming to you live from my home studio here. It’s just Eric Ruby. Gerald’s taking care of the baby. Espo’s got Southwest Bias in a little bit and Stephen is on vacation because this has been dragging out for far too long. But the Phoenix Suns have finally finally moved on from the Bradley Beal era, agreeing to a buyout with the former all-star, the former Washington Wizard, and he will join the Los Angeles Clippers according to Shams Shirania. Before we get into it, let’s just take a second, breathe, hit that like button, hit that subscribe button. Make sure you’re also over at gophnx.com as Gerald has an article that dropped about why the Suns are waving and stretching Bradley Beal because I understand that the reaction to this of course is going to be mostly negative. Because how could it not considering the Suns are now turning somebody that they traded a whole lot of assets for somebody who was supposed to be a part of a big three of a new era of Phoenix Suns basketball of an era of competing and possibly championships to end up basically losing him and making him into a five-year problem after missing the playin entirely and in year one getting swept. It’s an unmititigated disaster, but the disaster is now in the past. It’s on the Suns to move on past it, and we’re moving on past it here on PHNX Suns with everybody here together. Thank you all so much for joining us here a little bit earlier in the day. We will still have a watch along for the Suns summer league game later today. And of course, Espa will have his thoughts on Southwest bias here in a little bit. If you have a super chat, go ahead and throw that in there. We’ll get to it here on stream. But of course, the Suns have now moved on from Bradley Beal. Now, I think the first question for a lot of people is why why would the Suns buy out Bradley Beal instead of just keeping him and trying to move on from him later? Well, first things first is it gives you instant flexibility according to Sham Shirania and Gerald also has been saying this as well. Beal is giving back 13.9 million out of the 110 million on the final two years of his contract to complete the buyout with the Suns. Uh who will obviously of course wave that salary over the next 5 years. This will obviously give Bradley Beal the ability to move on to whatever contender he pleases and wherever he wants to go. That ends up being the Los Angeles Clippers. But for the Suns, you had to get that number down to 13.9 million because they already had some dead money on the cap from this year little little and EJ Liddell. So that you had to stay below the 22.2 to average value of wave and stretch money be taking that $13.9 million less gets you under that and also allows you to unlock a couple of things by getting under the apron which is what the Suns have been desperately needing to do. You are now able to aggregate contracts. You now have an extra roster spot available. It now unfreezes your picks in the 2031 season or 2032 season. And there is so much more that the Suns are now able to do to build around Devin Booker, to build around this young core after the Kevin Durant trade. So before we get into the negatives, because I certainly think that there’s negatives, and I think we should put a poll in the chat about do you think this was the right move, yes or no. I do want to get into the positives because the positives for sure are are something that if the Suns are able to take advantage of right now that they could actually turn this quote unquote around quicker than many people would expect. Listen, the Suns now have the ability to offer the MLE to a free agent. Now, is there a free agent out there worth the MLE? I think that’s a completely different conversation and one that we could talk about later. uh you actually now have the ability to sign two people onto a roster spot with Kobe Brea going to a two-way contract. You have two roster spots available. I think aggregating contracts is a really really big part of this because the Suns and it’s shown obviously since Matt Ishb has taken over but even with Brian Gregory like they always chomp at the bit to make a move and I don’t know if necessarily that trade is going to come in the off season. I feel like this is the last big move for the Suns in the off season. Maybe, you know, a margin move, signing a a Delano Banton, signing a Ben Simmons, a Gary Payton the second, right? Like doing that I believe is still on the table. I don’t think this is technically the last transactional move the Suns will make. But as far as like a big trade, I don’t think another big trade happens this off season. Maybe at most like a Nick Richards trade on the margin, but after seeing how Kaman Malawatch clearly needs time in summer league, maybe they think holding on to him at least for the start of the season might be worth it. What this I feel like now unlocks the Suns is to go into the season, right, with all options on the table. Right now you’re going into the season and you can aggregate Royce O’Neal and Grayson Allen. Let’s say a contending team really needs some shooting, really needs a a smaller wing player, but somebody to come in and light up that offense. Or they need Nick Richards and Royce O’Neal or Nick Richards and Grayson Allen. Or hell, maybe a big contract comes up and it’s all three. You know, that is something that unlocks the Phoenix Suns. And I think PHNX Suns is getting unlocked here because Steven has joined in from vacation. Talk about psychos and sickos. My guy, it had to be big news to bring you out when you went back home. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that home set up. Stephen, how you doing, man? Uh, I was in vacation mode. Um, at least I was attempting to be and then obviously duty calls. No different than the Kevin Durant situation did, uh, in a very similar fashion. So, here we are about what four weeks removed from the KD situation and uh yeah, we got we’re here again with some more Suns news. I feel like Stephen and we talked about this yesterday, Gerald and I, as you were rightfully enjoying your vacation until Look, another thing that Bradley Beiel ruined. Steven’s vacation. Come on. What are we doing here? And this is like the shock value of this is so much lower than it was, you know, if this was just out of nowhere, right? We’ve been talking about this for months at this point, but beyond the shock value, what are you feeling like now that the decision is made? He’s cut the 13.9 million. They’re the stretched and waved it presumably over the next five years. The Suns have moved on from the Bradley Beal era. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Uh the clarity part that I’ve continued to kind of harp on clarity having a vision that you can now go and execute upon without restraints. You can do so off your own will and not have to worry about other things hampering that. Um I believe they’ve dug now both tax aprons having moved on from both Durant and Bradley Bill. So that gives them optionality. It gives them multiple ways in which they can go about trying to facilitate the best roster possible around Jordan Kn and obviously with Devin Booker in A’s very first season at the helm of things. So that part is very important to have creative control. There’s nothing more valuable than having that. And um I think the second part for me, learning lessons, understanding that when the next opportunity presents itself, because with the way that things shift in the NBA now, the Suns might have an opportunity to immediately leap back into things. is not saying that they will, but the opportunity might be there. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Does it make sense for what you’re working towards to ultimately leap and try to do something big, or do you want to just start to gather your bearings and kind of incrementally work yourself back to being towards that contender status? And then the other thing for me, Domino’s fallen. I feel like things have kind of fell in succession in the way that we’ve spoken to. they’ve handled business accordingly and now they’ve put themselves in a position to where they can kind of align themselves with the last two things that I spoke with. Yeah, I think the clarity part is huge, especially for this this franchise at this moment, right? They’ve been very clear in reiterating that this is like a new era of the Phoenix Suns, right? With the draft class, with paying Devin Booker and getting rid of the two other highest paid players on the roster, like they know that what just happened was a failure. And part of why it was a failure is because the moves they made restricted them so tightly that they couldn’t make moves around the margins. We we don’t know if they could succeed if they got a little bit more wiggle room. I think we saw clearly that where this this front office is at right now, where this franchise is right now is are they able to make home runs when they can barely get a pitch, right? Like you’re barely allowed to take a swing because you only have the vet minimum. You can’t aggregate contracts. You can’t sign a bought out player if they were above a certain threshold because you’re over the second apron. Like all these restrictions stop the Phoenix Suns from making good moves on the margins. Now, did they still miss when they took swings on the margin? They did, right? All the vet minimums the first year of the big three experiment, those failed. Most of them the second year didn’t do that great either. So, it’s not like it was only that that stopped them from making the good moves. But you are restricted in what you’re able to do when you have those three on the roster. Getting Kevin Durant off the roster, getting now Bradley Beal completely off the roster and not bringing any salary back for him unlocks you to make decisions. Now, will they make the right decision, Stephen, is kind of what I’ve been harping on because I am in the camp of being worried that the next five years there’s going to be a Bradley Beal contract amount on your books. even with the cap going up. I’m not going to lie to people and say that I’m not worried about that. But if they can go and this season maybe they make a great trade by aggregating a couple of players or they can have this money free and available and maybe they they snag somebody off the free agent market like a Delano Banton who goes in and has a great season for them and is now a new young core piece for the Suns, right? Maybe just overall the vibes by doing this. Maybe it was just an untenable situation where nobody was going to be happy if Bradley Beal stuck around and the the franchise and Devin Booker specifically is ready to step into this new era and and take that to the next level and be fun and scrappy with these new pieces from the draft and the Kevin Durant trade. If they nail what’s next, then what happened today is the perfect move. But on the opposite, Stephen, if they go out there and they make a complete miss in the trade market, they have a complete miss on the free agent market, if overall the vibes, the competitiveness, it hasn’t shifted this season from last, well then you just hampered yourself for the next five seasons and presumably the entirety that’s left of Book’s prime before he starts a potential decline at the end of his career. Yeah, there’s there’s definitely some uh some risk involved with it, but I air on them simply putting themselves in the position to even make mistakes at this point because they couldn’t even make a decision because of the constraints of that they were operating up against with the new CBA um taking effect. So just having that opportunity to even make decisions like that and to be able to go and try to execute upon things and kind of move like I said on your own will that’s got to be valued as much as anything else um considering you know what they’re coming from. Now, I wonder if and you can you can definitely chime in here, but I’ve just been very curious about should the bill situation had gotten to where we got news of this morning, would it be the Suns moving in accordance with options that they might have on the table that they’ve already kind of worked on external of the the bill situation that’s been the elephant in the room? That remains to be seen, but I’m curious, what are your thoughts on that part of it all and just generally where they kind of go next with this news? I mean, I’d be shocked if they hadn’t been already thinking and planning about what comes next because what’s reportedly been the holdup, right, through all of this is from Mark Stein that a Bradley Beal wanted his $13 million contract advance last season or yesterday. uh that Gerald and I talked about doesn’t affect the number the Suns pay on the cap, but does affect how much money is coming into Bradley Bill’s pockets first. So, we we heard from Mark Stein he wanted to wait until the 15th to get that $13 million advance and not have that stretched out. So, that’s not the Suns decision, right? The Suns in and from everything that I’ve that I know, they know that they’ve been they’ve been doing this. They know this has been the decision for the franchise going forward. And then the second thing that we heard when Sham Shrania was so gracious to join me at summer league was that Bradley Beiel was looking to pick his next place. He wanted to be sure about where he goes next. Those are two situations that have nothing to do with what the Phoenix Suns are planning to do. So if they have not been operating like a team who has been planning about what the the Sun situation is going to be after Bradley Beal, the newfound flexibility they have and what they’ll do with it, that would shock me, right? So, I don’t think that they were waiting. I think if this could have happened two weeks ago, I think they would have done it two weeks ago. But, as we’ve been saying, Stephen, Bradley Beal has always held the cards in this from a no trade clause to having to agree to cut that $13.9 million that he didn’t have to cut. Like, he didn’t have to do that, right? But of course, now working with the Suns, the Suns didn’t want to do it unless he did. He wanted to go and he joins LA. So, I wouldn’t be shocked is if the Sun’s next move, which by all signs is to sign a guard on the free agent market, happens here in the next couple of days. Yeah, it seems like it seems like that’s what they’re kind of lined up for next in the most immediate fashion of news to come from this. Um, there are still options there. Obviously, the Chris Paul part of it is still relevant as well. I know we’ve we’ve seen the reports from Gambo and things like that. Um, but I mean he’s still there. So optionwise in terms of if it’s possible to happen, that’s there. You mentioned Delano Ben. That’s someone that we’ve both spoken to multiple times prior to today as a piece that would make sense for what it is that they’re working towards, what they need in terms of positional size. and what Jordan I has spoken to in terms of wanting to dictate terms with the defense. Having a 6A point guard that gets after it at the point of attack is something that would very much help to align with everything that they’ve spoken to wanting to work to starting with the defensive end of the floor. So, there are options on the table for them. um maybe not as robust of a a market if it happened two weeks ago, which we’ve kind of been speaking to as well as as time has kind of ticked onward. But generally speaking, again, I know there’s the lingering contract that’s going to be on their books with Bill, but it is very much a breath of fresh air to not have to think through the avenues of cap constraints and aprons and things like that that they will have to work up against. Yeah. a couple more positives that I I failed to mention because luckily Stephen joined me and and now we can actually have a conversation here, but I I got a little sidetracked talking about, you know, potential trades they could make. So, not only are they able to aggregate outgoing salaries in trades, they’re now able to take back more money than they send out in trades. They’re now able to execute signin trades. They can now send out cash in trades. And they can absorb players with a certain salary into their MLE. And I mentioned about unfreezing the pick. Obviously, the 2032 first round pick is currently frozen, which means that it can’t be traded. But if they remain below the second tax apron, which they are now, in three of the next four years, it’ll be unfrozen. And if they duck the second tax apron in just two of the upcoming four seasons, they’ll have that 2032 pick move to the very end of the first round. Of course, being unfrozen there. If you want more in-depth de details on everything going on with why the Suns would wave and stretch Bradley Beal beyond all of this, uh Gerald has an article that just went out over at gophx.com. Plus, PHNX Suns will be doing a live watch along for the summer league game later today. And Gerald and I will be diving into that a little bit later. We do have a 199 super chat from Teddy. Thanks, Teddy. Says, “Congrats, friends. You are free now.” Stephen, beyond all of the salary cap ramifications, all of the draft ramifications, like nobody here thinks, at least on this show, thinks that Bradley Beal is a bad person, right? And he was well within his rights to exercise all of the power that he had over the franchise. That being said, if you take the last month of the season and and say that’s what it would have been going into this season and beyond, that’s untenable for a franchise that’s trying to start something new. This was the right move for the culture of the Phoenix Suns. Yeah, 1000%. You don’t want to be going forward with new things, having something old, holding whatever it is that’s going to come for the team going forward, holding that back in any capacity. you want to be able to move forward into a new era with nothing holding that back. And I mean, we’ve spoken on that before as well, that part of it. Um, which is why it’s always felt like the writing has been on the wall for the Bill situation with the Suns. It never felt like he would be going into next season on the roster. I know there were reports that it was potentially something that could happen. I just personally didn’t see it because of that part in particular. Not that Bill is a bad player. Obviously, he’s not playing up to the value of what his contract was. Now, he’ll be a whole lot closer to that going forward into whatever his new new situation is. Obviously, the report is that he’ll be going to the Clippers, but for the Suns, not having to worry about that part of it anymore. You don’t have to worry about the the Buddha Hoser situation is behind you. What you did with the Kevin Durant situation, again, that’s self-inflicted. That’s behind you. You made the most out of that situation that you possibly could. Now you’re the next domino to fall as a Bradley Bill situation that fell this morning. And now it’s about what you do to make the absolute most of that situation as well. No different than you did with each of the last two. I think we all agreed that the Jordan not hiring just off of the things that we’ve learned to know about him from uh from his time with Cleveland. Obviously you got to speak with Kenny Atinson about him as well. Everything prospectively feels like a A+ having Jordan not in place of Mike Benho. You get the three picks that you made from this most recent draft in place of Durant. You never fully replace an all-time great. We understand that part. But you made away in that situation as good as well as you possibly could have considering the lack of leverage that you had. Now it’s on to the Bill situation. It’s all about what you do in response to that. And now uh Brian Gregory again is under under the um under the microscope in terms of looking at what he decides to do going forward for this franchise. Yeah. I you know with all of this I think that we need to spend some time on the negatives because while we agree that you know the the Suns kind of backed themselves into a corner where it’s they brought Bradley Beal back it felt untenable technically speaking bringing him back was an option right and and bringing him back and sitting his ass at home and seeing if anybody later in the season would be willing to take on an expiring salary or next off season would be willing to take in you know one year of Bradley Beal’s expiring salary instead of two or bringing him back and telling him you’re going to be our sixth man which is something that basically out of pure spite he he did pretty well for a little bit there with Mike Benhoer or banking on the fact that maybe Jordan can can find a way to creatively use Bradley Beiel since we’ve heard such great things about Jordan’s offensive mind like when I spoke to Kenny Atinson out in summer league about how he designed behind all their offensive sets and how Donovan Mitchell when he spoke to Shane Young talked about how he was always sending new offensive philosophies and ideas. Maybe there would have been more of a respect there, right? Maybe there would have been more of a place for Bradley Beiel on this roster next season. But, you know, with the potential negatives of doing that as well, if that makes Devin Booker upset, if that stops you from making a trade during the season, I see why the Suns felt like they had to do it. But Stephen, do you feel like there was any way that Bradley Beal could have not been bought out this summer and it could have worked out better for the Suns? I feel like I know it was it was possible for him to come back. I just didn’t see it being something that made sense for any of the existing parties. But in addition to that, we spoke about it with Gerald about two weeks ago where I posed a question to you all because we were kind of talking around the idea of him being on the contract books but not around the team. And I was questioning whether y’all thought what were your thoughts about the optics of that. Again, that’s not something that you want to have as a dark cloud over all this kind of sunshine and newness that Jordan is looking to establish, setting a new tone going forward optics wise, especially not just to the franchise, but to the rest of the league as well, that just looks all types of ways. And for a franchise that is still not too far removed from old ownership and everything that came from that that um that faction and everything the nonsense that was going on and whatnot. You don’t want to rehash those things. You don’t even want to be operating in a similar hemisphere as those things. You want to be operating as clean shaven with your business going forward as possible. And it feels like this decision with Bill ultimately was in alignment with that more than any other option. There we go. We finally got a Steven alignment counter on vacation. Uh, yes. And I do think that with the Bradley Beiel situation, I think that’s less of a of a telltale sign about your organization because I don’t think anybody could look at that situation and not see that like it just worked out in the worst possible case scenario. And the Suns really couldn’t do anything different. I mean, Mike Benholes are definitely hurt the situation and hurt the relationship with how he handled Bradley Beal, but the Suns fired him. He’s gone, right? I think it’s more the Kevin Durant situation in that sense where you tried to trade him behind his back without talking to an all-time great who said he wanted to retire there and stay in Phoenix, excuse me, and then go on and have to deal with that trade afterwards. But that’s also part of the reason why you extend Devin Booker, right? And why you commit to him. So, any any final thoughts, Stephen? What we’ll do here is I want to talk really quickly about Bradley Beal staying in the Pacific division and and staying with the the Clippers and then also about what the Suns can do on the free agent market and a couple free agent names that have been shot down by other names and by Gerald Borgay here at PHNX. Uh before we get to Steven’s final thoughts, I want to remind everybody, hit that like button, hit that subscribe button as well. Espo will be live for Southwest Bias here at around 11:30 on this very channel. And then Gerald and I will be back for a summer league watch along at 2 o’clock where we’ll also be talking about Bradley Beals. A tune in the chat makes a great point. Says, “Where are the likes?” I thought all y’all would be happy. I thought it was the meme, the breaking free meme. And what we’re not hitting the like button here. Uh 366 people did vote and say 81% said this was the right move. Stephen, how do you feel? your final thoughts on Bradley Beal being bought out by the Phoenix Suns and the Beal era or error in Phoenix being over. Yeah, I feel like it was the right move. Um, again, you need to put Jordan in the best situation he could be in from a roster standpoint, from a culture standpoint. Obviously, Devin Booker as well in the best position he could be in going forward. You can’t do that without detaching from things of old that are potentially going to hold you back, whether it be contractually, whether it be um culture culture wise or just on the floor as well more than anything else. And again, having Jaylen Green be brought in for Kevin Durant in that trade as well kind of felt like the writing again was on the wall. You have another guard that plays not exactly the same way, but similarly, it would put him in a situation where he’s not going to be starting for the team. So, things are making more sense. that clarity that I’ve been speaking to is becoming more and more apparent as we kind of inch closer towards training camp and through summer league and things like that. Um, I would say they made made a way so far with everything all things considered as well as they possibly could so far. Yeah, I think that obviously like I said before it’s going to be judged on what they do next and we’ll talk about that here in a second. I’m just glad it’s over. Yeah, I’m just glad it’s over, man. I I don’t want to talk about this anymore. And I know that we’ll have to bring this up as far as like when the Suns are restricted on certain moves or if there’s a free agent that they want that they can’t sign because they already have 20 million dedicated. Like I know this is not the last time that we’re going to be speaking about the situation with Branley Beal, but my lord, I was so sick of talking about the potential of it, talking about why it took so long, talking about what the Suns will do afterwards, but in more of a guessing stage rather than a definitive stage. It’s a new era, Stephen. It’s time to move on, and we are going to to move on. Uh Roy with a 199 super chat goes, “Na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye.” Ain’t that some real stuff there? Uh, real quick, Stephen, how do you feel about him staying in the Pacific Division, staying uh staying local, basically going over to LA uh and joining the Los Angeles Clippers? I think the the Clippers have done a sensational bit of business over the last handful of weeks. The pieces that they brought in, obviously surrounding their kind of foundation a little bit better now going forward into this upcoming season, they’re in a good position to be right back where they were in terms of in that first round being in game seven with the with the Denver Nuggets, but not having the same things that plagued them throughout that series repeated. self going into next season. And I feel like they’re a team that’s going to very much be in the thick of everything in terms of contender conversations. Obviously, they have one of the best head coaches in the NBA for the last decade now in TYOU. Um they they have some good things working with them. Uh Bradley Bill is going to be a very good player for the Los Angeles Clippers. Don’t let allow for anybody to tell you otherwise. He’s still a very good player now. He was very much in need of a breath of fresh air, no different than the Phoenix Suns were. So again, this was very much something that was mutually important for both both existing parties to get established. He’s now also going to be on a contract where he’s gonna he’s going to outproduce that contract this season. I don’t think that should come as a surprise to anybody as well. I’m very curious about what it looks like with him in terms of his role for the team because he’s not going to be a player that’s going to demand a high percentage of usage. I think those days for him, unless he goes to a team that’s not contending, are pretty much gone. It’s going to be very much kind of getting in where he fits in. But I do think he’s going to be implored to be himself significantly more in the Clippers context than he was in last season with the Suns or his very first season with the Suns. And I think that naturally is going to put do well for him. Yeah. I And I get what you’re saying. Number one, he has to stay healthy, right? and and now you’re banking on, if you’re the Clippers, the health of Bradley Beal and Kawhi Leonard and possibly Chris Paul, which we could talk about here in a second. It’s a risky gamble. Harden plays a bunch in the regular season, but he doesn’t show up in the postseason, right? I mean, Zoo is basically your most consistent player through 82 games in the postseason considering health in there as well. I do agree that Bradley Beal is not a terrible player. Now, is he an extraordinarily valuable player? I think he needs to prove that again because while he completely underplayed his contract value and what he’s signing with the Clippers, which I believe is a two-year 11 million contract, I believe is below the open market value he would get in certain situations. I do think that as far as can you be a member of a winning basketball team. Bradley Beal has not proven that since the Washington Wizards were good in the Eastern Conference, and we all know how long that’s been. So Bradley Beal needs to be be available. He needs to show that he could be a good part of a team context. Now, you’re right. He is set up extraordinarily well, way better than he was in Phoenix. I I think he’d be better set up in Phoenix this year than he was the last two years, but still much better with Ty Louu, who we all agree is an incredible coach, an incredible defensive mind. You have a Kawhi Leonard, a James Harden, a Zubats as well back there that is such a great inscillary three high-end players for Bradley Beal. You know, they just got rid of Norman Powell. So, essentially Bradley Beal is going to slot into that Norman Powell role, and I believe he’s a better player than Norman Powell overall, even though Norm’s last season was good. That that being said, that being said, this doesn’t scare me. And and then the Suns are in contention, so maybe I’m not in a spot to be scared. But Bradley be the Clippers doesn’t scare me, right? Like like this is something where I’m going to have to see it to believe it. And well, we could talk about how maybe he’ll be worth more of the contract and and maybe LA’s a better fit for him and it’s a breath of fresh air. I’ve got to see it because while I don’t think Beal was a terrible player for the Suns, there were a lot of moments where playing Bradley Beal was not the right decision. It was playing a rookie in Ryan Dunn that was the right decision. or hell playing Kong Gillespie who’s on a two-way contract was a better decision for the Suns. What happens with the Clippers? Does that show itself again? I think this is a massive two years for Bradley Beal’s future in the NBA and how he’s going to be considered and it’s up to him and solely him to stay on the court and to prove it. And damn it, he needs to prove it because this this time in Phoenix, if it goes to show that this was just the beginning of the end and the same old same old after this, bye-bye big contracts for Branley Beal, who also, by the way, no longer has a no trade clause. He he can get traded. But Stephen, unless you have any more thoughts on Beiel specifically, I think we spend a couple of minutes here talking about some free agents and uh Espo will jump on for Southwest Bias in just a couple minutes on this channel. So guys, don’t go anywhere afterwards. But any final thoughts on Beal before we move on? Yeah, real real quick. So with the Clippers, obviously they bring in Brook Lopez. Yes, John Collins as well. Yeah, you see where you see where we’re trending. Brad has multiple pick and roll, dribble, handoff players that can do multiple things with him. So context-wise, this is what I’m speaking to. The Clippers have someone in Bradley Bill again, healthwanding, he has to be healthy to provide it, but should he be there for the team, them having the pieces that they have in the front court in addition to Zubach to unlock Bradley Bill in ways that the Suns did with Ysef Nerkage, but it just didn’t get to the extent that they thought it would get to when they were looking at the roster prospectively. Um, he set up again just for great success. They have depth in ways that most teams simply don’t. Their championship aspirations are not hinged upon him being healthy, but they do need him to be there for sure for them to reach their ceiling. And I think that him not having to be relied upon nearly as much puts him in a position to be that player that he hopefully um will be for them. Minutes wise, how how much do you think he plays on the on average? If they sign Chris Paul, he’ll get under 30 minutes a game. Yep. So again, to that point, if you’re talking about trying to navigate the injuries if he’s not playing as much, there’s no guaranteed outlet for that, but that’s it probably gives you a little bit better of a chance if he’s not playing 30 or 32, 33 minutes for you. So just again, he’s just set up for good success. They have depth in ways that most teams don’t. And again, I just don’t see them being anywhere less than a second round team, and they should be finishing really no less than the conference finals next year. N enough of the Clippers talk, even though I agree with you. Uh, let’s talk about some free agents before we get out of here in a couple of minutes. I’m going to tell you some names that have been shot down. Want to talk about who who else could be available beyond that. I know there’s a lot of chat in here about DeAnthony Melton. And as much as we would all like the Anthony Melton, uh, Gerald has shot it down. Apparently Mark Stein is saying he’s going to the Warriors, that’s just not seeming like an option for the Suns. It’s also been reported out there by Gambo and a couple other people that Chris Paul will not be on the Phoenix Suns. So that leaves you now with like a Ben Simmons, Gary Payton II, Campaign, right? Like these are the names that now the Suns are able to kind of navigate. Maybe a Russell Westbrook and ad. Is there a name that stands out to you beyond the ones that have been shot down? Uh I think Delano Ben is a name that I continue to just be high on. I feel like he’s a he’s a buy low and a player that can significantly outplay the contract that you would probably extend to him for probably a one-year prove it type of deal. And then ultimately, like you spoke to, become a piece that helps to build this new foundation with youthfulness and size at multiple positions in ways that we maybe didn’t see them potentially having going into this off season. Uh I’m actually very much in on on Ben Simmons. No, I I acknowledge that he’s not going to be like a grand slam type of immediate all-star level type of piece that they’re adding. He’s those days are those days for him are probably not in his cars anymore. But looking at the Suns context, if you need someone that can get Devin Booker and Jaylen Green off the ball and get your offense efficiently into the half court and get through multiple sets and actions and play efficiently to the second side, have an efficient pick and roll. Ben Simmons is a is a answer to a lot of the questions that defenses are going to throw at the Phoenix Suns. Jaylen Green, how well do you play off of double teams? Devin Booker, how well do you play off of double teams? If your immediate counterpunch to that is Ben Simmons and short roll playing four on three all game, he’s one of the better playmakers in the NBA still until this day. That’s one of the skills that he has that will never diminish. So if he’s just putting pressure on the rim and four on threes and playing an advantage for the 15 to 20 minutes that he does play and then on the defensive end he’s giving you above average versatility and positional size to play one through five. That’s something that really helps a team that again is very young and still trying to retool and like they said make the playoffs this upcoming season. I I agree with you. I was not as low on Ben Simmons as a lot of other people. Apparently Gambo just shot Ben Simmons down so no on Ben Simmons. Delano Banton is my numero uno choice. Like I I need Delano Banton in a Suns uniform. 68 point guard. Somebody who’s young, who’s on track with the Phoenix Suns next step is going to be damn it, he’d be like the fifth highest the fifth tallest player on the roster at this point at at 68. So I definitely think that’s somebody apparently he’s also shot down Russell Westbrook. I I didn’t I haven’t seen that one out there as well, but uh I that doesn’t surprise me as much as the Ben Simmons one. We’ll see what the Suns do, right? Like that’s the thing is there’s still a lot on the table. They could maybe not sign anybody at all and go and try to acquire an extra contract in a trade, right? Have just some more some more space and availability. I mean, they need to maybe shore up some of their wing situation, but I don’t see this roster as one that needs a huge like change anywhere because the expectations aren’t aren’t that high. So, as we get out of here, Stephen, is there anything that you haven’t said today that you want to say about the situation before we go let you enjoy your vacation a little bit more? Uh, no, just the again the clarity, the clarity being provided and them being able to move forward on their own will is just as important as anything. And I mean, I think you have to salute the front office for a decision that certainly was tough, but you air on being able to get control, creative control back more than anything else. And again, for them to have navigated those waters and the ways in which they have and we have obviously seen results from the head coach and hire to obviously the Durant return and what that ultimately turned into, they’ve done solid. I don’t feel like they could have done much else to put Jordan in a better position going into his very first season as well as Devin Booker back at their reigns as the bonafide best player on the roster. Again, I think those things you just kind of have to value and take what comes with that as it does, but this is about as good a situation as they could put themselves in. Agreed. I I think there’s certainly a situation where this bites them in the ass, right? Like there was no good or perfect outcome from this. Like this is a risk, right? Keeping him was a risk. Buying him out was a risk. But if you want a better inside track as to why the Phoenix Suns did this with some inside information from our own Gerald Borgay, that article is up at gophnx.com right now. Jared will join me for a summer league watch along later today as Steven goes and continues home like he should be able to because this should have happened two weeks ago. Espo is about to go live for Southwest Bias giving out his thoughts. If you’re listening on audio, go ahead and always check out Southwestbias as Espo is bringing you content every single day. Suns and otherwise. Of course, you can follow the show at PHNX Suns. That’s on Twitter and on Instagram. We appreciate Stephen joining us here on vacation. And you can follow him at StephenPG3, not just for Suns coverage, not just for Mercury coverage, but coverage of the entire W as well and breaking down Suns and other basketball like nobody else is doing it, including the breakdowns right here on our very channel of all the rookies that we’ve had so far. Stephen has dove into the film like nobody else. So check that out. And of course, you can follow me, Eddie RK Ruby. But let’s not forget the juice man, freckled Mamba, who jumped in here and made sure that this stream happened. A final super chat before we get out. says, “Beal made a straight KD to finally wave wave his contract. Petty trash can.” It’s a 499 super chat from Michael. Listen, I think Suns fans might have another enemy number one to be rooting against this season, but let’s focus on the Suns and we’ll do that later today and throughout the rest of this off seasonason. It’s finally over and we should all be thankful for that. We’ll talk to you later.

📬 Arizona sports in your inbox! https://gophnx.com/newsletter

The Phoenix Suns have bought out Bradley Beal after a LONG process. According to Shams Charania Beal will likely join the Clippers. This marks the end of the Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. The Big 3 era in Phoenix is over, now what? The Suns will look toward their youth with Mark Williams, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, Koby Brea, Khaman Malauch and Rasheer Fleming.

0:00 – Intro
2:30 – Why do this?

An ALLCITY Network Production

SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtube

ALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports

MERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-locker

ALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Phoenix

PHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/

ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/

bet365: https://www.bet365.com/olp/open-account?affiliate=365_03330244 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets!
Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/
Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you!

Phoenix Raceway: Tickets, hospitality and upgrades are still available for the NASCAR Championship Series October 31st through November 2nd! Visit the link HERE to get yours now!

APS: Find instant rebates, discounts and special offers on smart thermostats, energy-efficient appliances and more at https://marketplace.aps.com/default/heating-cooling/smart-thermostats

Chicken N’ Pickle: Family friendly fun awaits! Visit chickennpickle.com to plan your visit today!

Monarch Money: Use Monarch Money to get control of your overall finances with 50% off your first year at https://www.monarchmoney.com/phnx

Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.

Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 20% off your first order!

All Pro Shade Concepts: Call 623-204-1476 or visit https://allproshadeconcepts.com/ now to schedule your free estimate!

When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

#KevinDurant #Durant #KD #DevinBooker #Booker #Book #BradleyBeal #Beal #PhoenixSuns #Phoenix #NBA #basketball #Big3 #hoops #sports #BolBol #GraysonAllen #JusufNurkic