The Bradley Beal saga with the Phoenix Suns appears to be close to a resolution. It’s been reported this week that Beal could secure a buyout with the Suns, which would open the door for him to sign as an unrestricted free agent. If he does hit the open market, the Los Angeles Clippers appear to be the “likely” leaders to sign the three-time NBA All-Star, according to the Athletic.
Beal, 32, has also considered the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks for his next team, according to the same report.
With Beal having a no-trade clause and set to make over $53 million during the 2025-26 season, finding a trade partner seems extremely unlikely — making a buyout one of the only logical solutions to end his tenure in Phoenix before he decides on a whopping $57 million player option for the 2026-27 campaign.
Bradley Beal contract buyout explainer: Why Suns want to move on, plus landing spots for veteran scorer
Sam Quinn
As CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn writes, Beal’s situation is complicated and unique. If Beal and the Suns agree on a buyout, he would have to give up roughly $13.9 million over the life of his contract to make it work because NBA teams are only allowed to stretch 15% of the current salary cap at a time. Phoenix already has $3.8 million in stretched money owed to Nassir Little and E.J. Liddell on its books.
The Clippers can offer Beal up to $5.3 million in salary this upcoming season. Los Angeles used most of its non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign center Brook Lopez. The Clippers also made a trade that saw Norman Powell go to the Miami Heat and John Collins come to Los Angeles in a three-deal deal with the Utah Jazz.
In his second season with the Suns, Beal appeared in 53 games and averaged 17.0 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game.