The Los Angeles Clippers are emerging as the favorite to land Bradley Beal once the guard is expected to hit free agency, according to two reports Tuesday.
NBC Sports and The Athletic both reported that the three-time All Star is likely to land in Los Angeles, should the Phoenix Suns buy out his contract as expected.
Last week, the Arizona Republic reported that the 32-year-old could be bought out of the final two years of his contract, with the team and player already discussing terms.
Beal has nearly $111 million remaining on his contract, per Spotrac.
The Clippers trading away Norman Powell — as part of a deal to bring in John Collins — was seen as “a precursor to the Beal signing,” NBC Sports reported. The team still wants a sharpshooting ball-handler to play alongside James Harden.
Beal signed a five-year, $251 million deal with a no-trade clause in July 2022 when he was still with the Washington Wizards. The Suns acquired Beal in June 2023, trading multiple draft assets in exchange.
According to The Athletic, the Clippers can offer Beal up to $5.3 million in salary this season.
“The work’s not done. We still have a lot of work to do, but I think we’re moving in the right direction to give this group a chance to be better than we were last year,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said following the Collins-Powell trade.
Beal has also considered joining the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks, per The Athletic.
A former No. 3 overall draft pick, Beal has been limited to 53 games in each of his two seasons with the Suns, and he has not played as many as 60 games in any season since 2020-21.
Beal averaged 17.0 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 53 games (38 starts) last season. He has career averages of 21.5 points, 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 801 games (752 starts) with the Wizards and Suns.
–Field Level Media
