Breaking: Suns buy out Bradley Beal after two disappointing seasons

Phoenix admits its mistake and pays to fix it.

In an offseason defined by transformation, and for some, a long-overdue ‘realignment’, the Phoenix Suns have officially dismantled their overrated and underperforming Big Three completely.

The experiment is over.

Kevin Durant has been traded to the Houston Rockets, and now, Bradley Beal has been bought out of his contract. A bold era built on star power ends not with a championship, but with a costly reset.

Beal will join the Los Angeles Clippers, signing a two-year, $11 million contract. The Clippers could not offer much more as they are a team hard-capped in the first apron and had just $5.4 million of their mid-level exception available.

Per Charnia on Twitter:

The crux of the decision for Beal and his representation was finding the best basketball situation first and foremost once he was granted permission by the Suns to speak to interested suitors around the NBA, and Bartelstein led an exhaustive process over the last few weeks.

Beal became extremely excited about the route to part ways after meeting with multiple interested suitors, and Bartelstein then moved forward with the Suns on completing the release Wednesday, opening the path for Beal to start a new chapter in LA.

Per Charania, Beal is giving back $13.9 million of the $110.8 million he was owed over the next seasons as a part of the buyout.

According to Bobby Marks, Phoenix hasn’t stretched that amount yet and doesn’t have to until August 31. Still, the expectation is that they ultimately will.

Per Charnia:

This now gives the Suns increased team-building flexibility by taking them out of the first and second aprons, providing access to more tradeable draft picks in the future, and opening up part of the mid-level exception to utilize.

While it’s not yet official whether Phoenix will stretch the remaining money over five years, what is official is this: Bradley Beal is no longer a member of the Phoenix Suns.

How did we get here?

The addition of Bradley Beal two summers ago sparked the formation of the first non-organic Big Three in the Valley of the Sun. After 11 seasons with the Washington Wizards, Beal was ready for a new chapter. Armed with a no-trade clause embedded in the five-year, $251 million deal he signed in July 2022, he held all the power. He could choose his destination. And the place he chose was Phoenix.

On Father’s Day 2023, the news broke: Bradley Beal was becoming a Sun.

In two seasons and zero postseason wins, Bradley Beal suited up for just 106 of a possible 164 games, available only 64.6% of the time. He earned $46.7 million in 2023–24 and was on the books for $50.2 million in 2024–25. For that price, Phoenix got 17.6 points per game on efficient 51/41/81 shooting splits, along with 4.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 2.2 turnovers per contest.

He wasn’t the worst player on the floor. But he had the worst contract in the league. And when you’re compensated like a cornerstone, availability and impact aren’t luxuries. They’re expectations.

Beal didn’t deliver either. And what the past two years in Phoenix have made painfully clear is this: you can’t buy a championship, especially when you bet on the wrong horse.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro stated that Beal wouldn’t be on this team, and he’s been saying it since April.

We’ve all had time to sit with this. To weigh the options, to wonder how, or even if, Bradley Beal ever truly fit. To calculate the cost of a buyout, not just in dollars but in direction. We’ve spent days cursing the organization for stepping into this trap. For chasing a star who duplicated skills, not elevated them, all while dragging along the worst contract in the league.

That chapter is now closed. The team moves on. And so do we.

In an effort to course-correct, the Suns have chosen to part ways with the 32-year-old, three-time All-Star. They’ll pay him $5 million simply to walk away. Not to be in their gym. Not to wear their jersey. Not to be part of the fabric of this team. It’s a quiet, unceremonious end to a partnership that never delivered on its promise.

Now, the question becomes: what’s next? With a bit of cap breathing room and a chance to reshape the roster with intention, the Suns stand at another crossroads. The burden has been lifted. What they do with that freedom will define this next era.

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