Bradley Beal traded to Suns

The Washington Wizards agreed to trade star Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, kicking off a rebuild weeks after hiring a new front office.

Washington will reportedly receive guard Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and the right to swap picks for its three-time All-Star. To facilitate the deal, Beal agreed to waive his no-trade clause — an element that gave the 29-year-old significant leverage over his next destination.

In Phoenix, Beal will team up with superstars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The trade is Phoenix’s second blockbuster in the past few months as the Suns also acquired Durant from the Brooklyn Nets at last season’s trade deadline. Despite the splashy Durant deal, the Suns were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs — leading Ishbia to fire coach Monty Williams and hire Frank Vogel.

Washington, meanwhile, essentially hits the restart button by parting ways with Beal — the talented scoring guard who had been with the franchise since being drafted third overall in 2012. The trade comes just a year after Beal re-signed with the Wizards on a five-year, $251 million contract. 

Over the last few years, Beal emerged as Washington’s best player and became recognized on a national level.

But the Wizards struggled to thrive in that span, making the playoffs only once in the last five years.

After this past season, Washington owner Ted Leonsis fired his president of basketball operations, Tommy Sheppard, named Michael Winger president of Monumental Basketball and added Will Dawkins as general manager.

Winger said at his introductory press conference that he had “full authority” to conduct a rebuild — if that was the direction Washington needed to take. Weeks later, that became clear: Beal’s name started to emerge in trade rumors and a deal with Phoenix was soon hammered out. 

Trading Beal also ends a long-running discussion regarding the guard’s future in the District. As Beal’s national profile rose, so too did the chatter about whether the Wizards would be able to keep him. The discussion continued even after Beal signed his new contract last summer.

Beal would often insist Washington was the place for him. But the guard’s tune changed after the season. He told reporters that he couldn’t predict the future when asked about whether he’d be in a Wizards uniform next season.

“I wake up one day and they might not want your boy,” Beal said. “And then I got to make a decision.”

Moving on from Beal not only clears significant salary cap space, but also likely affects Washington’s decisions regarding forwards Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis, the Wizards’ two top players other than Beal. Both men can become free agents this summer and under Sheppard, the executive had expressed interest in retaining them long-term. 

With a rebuild underway, Porzingis is now reportedly likely to opt in to his $36 million player option, while Kuzma could test the open market.

Washington will also have to decide on Paul, the 38-year-old, 12-time All-Star point guard. Paul’s $30.8 million contract is only partially guaranteed and so Washington could save reportedly $5 million if it decides to waive Paul by June 30. The Wizards could, in theory, also look to keep Paul and assess whether to trade him for pieces at a later date.

The Wizards’ new front office also has familiarity with Paul. Dawkins was part of the Oklahoma City regime that acquired Paul in 2019-20 from the Rockets.

The Athletic first reported details of Beal’s trade to Phoenix. The specifics of which second-rounders Washington received and what picks it can swap with Phoenix have not been publicly reported.

“This was an extremely complicated process with so many different hurdles to get through, and Ted Leonsis and Michael Winger were unbelievable partners in making this happen,” Mark Bartelstein, Beal’s agent, told ESPN.

From the day that Ted drafted Brad he has been by our side along with [former general managers] Ernie Grunfeld and Tommy Sheppard. They’ve always had Brad’s back in every way and now we have experienced the exact same thing with Ted and Michael Winger. We are extremely grateful.”