Bradley Beal pursued Suns trade after Wizards talked with Heat, Bucks

Bradley Beal admitted he could’ve had a smoother first season away from the Washington Wizards after 11 years playing in D.C.

But listen to Beal from media day and on the latest Run Your Race podcast as he embarks on his second year with the Phoenix Suns, and it’s clear he’s still got optimism about the team’s upside with him playing alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

While on Theo Pinson’s Run Your Race podcast, Beal revealed how the trade to Phoenix came to be. And how the Suns quickly sold him on making a Big Three work.

“First off, Phoenix wasn’t really in the picture for me to go to. It wasn’t,” he said. “That was a fly ball that came out … I’m in left field. I’m waiting on Miami to give me a grounder, Milwaukee. Those were kind of my two. Miami didn’t want to do it for whatever reason, didn’t know why. Milwaukee I was like — I was straddling the fence.”

Why did Bradley Beal get turned off from a Bucks trade?

Beal has given the Wizards’ front office credit for being honest with him before it helped pursue a trade. It was time for the franchise to move on and time for him to find a winning situation.

And it was public knowledge Beal was on the trade market. The Suns just weren’t one of the first teams mentioned when that became clear.

Beal said that forward Khris Middleton was supposed to be coming the Wizards’ way if he were to become a Buck, but Middleton had a player option he’d have to exercise.

“I don’t know many people who are going to opt in, get traded to D.C.,” Beal said. “The loyalty part in that, like, trading somebody who won y’all a championship the previous year, who was a key piece to winning a championship, it didn’t sit right for me.

“We competitors. I can fill that role very nicely. (But) I didn’t like that. I didn’t like the look.”

Bradley Beal, on the process leading up to the trade:

“Milwaukee, I was on the fence. They [would’ve been] trading Middleton. The loyalty part of that … it didn’t sit right with me.

“My agent calls. I said, ‘What’s Miami talking about?

“He said, what do you think of Phoenix?”… pic.twitter.com/LQ3jklnAUy

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 8, 2024

Beal said he first caught wind of the Suns’ interest in him through his agent. Days before Father’s Day, he was on vacation in New York when his agent called to gauge his thoughts on joining the Suns.

“I said, ‘Is that even an option? How are they going to do that? What, are they going to trade Book?'” Beal said. “(They) said, no, they have other pieces whether it’s CP (Chris Paul), (Deandre) Ayton or whatever. They said they’ll do it.”

Booker and Durant helped recruit Beal to Phoenix

Beal’s first thought was, of course, about whether Phoenix’s two stars would welcome him. That was answered quickly after first hearing of the Suns’ interest, but not through his agent or the team itself.

“It wasn’t even an hour later, K (said), ‘what we doing?’ Book hit me: ‘What we doing?'” Beal remembered. “And I didn’t get that nowhere else. It was kind of like college again, like I was getting recruited, I felt wanted.”

Phoenix flew to New York that day, allowing Beal to meet with owner Mat Ishbia, executive James Jones and then-head coach Frank Vogel.

When they left the meeting, Beal told his representatives to get him to Phoenix.

The Suns eventually got a trade done, sending the Wizards six second-round picks (2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2030) with four more first-round pick swaps (2024, 2026, 2028, 2030). That was in addition to Landry Shamet, Paul’s massive deal and $3.5 million in cash, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.

When Beal landed in Phoenix to formally sign, it was no surprise that Booker and Durant were in the gym. He needed to find his shoes.

And that is what showed Beal why he could make it work with the Suns’ stars already on the roster.

“You see it. Like, K is in Year 17 now and still going, still putting in that work like it’s his first day here,” Beal said. “It’s efficient work though. Like bucket, bucket, bucket … That’s the motivation behind it though. I see Book run off 10 spots, ain’t missing, I’m like, damn.”

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