Although trades are not officially finalized until free agency opens up in the NBA, three-time all-star Bradley Beal has been traded to the Phoenix Suns from the Washington Wizards in an absolute blockbuster and shocking trade across the association.
The full trade sent veteran point guard Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, some second round picks, and other pick swaps to Washington in exchange for Bradley Beal, Isiah Todd, and Jordan Goodwin. The acquisition of Beal by the Wizards completes the latest big 3 for the Phoenix Suns. Chris Paul will likely not wear the Washington uniform this upcoming season as they are looking to deal him elsewhere with their rebuild currently just starting it seems like.
Beal's resume, to me, is a little underwhelming when looking in terms of his contract and the value the Suns give him. He's only made one all-NBA team and three all-star teams in his 11 year career. Sure, he's a great scorer and everything, but his stats have not done much to contribute to success since he's entered the league with the Washington Wizards.
Looking at it from Phoenix's point of view, there is some risk but heavy reward that comes along with the trade. First, Phoenix now has no depth on their team. The only guaranteed contracts they have on their team as of now can barely make up the starting lineup and maybe 1 or 2 pieces on their bench.
Secondly, can Bradley Beal finally stay healthy. In his 11 years in the league, he's only played 2 full seasons and the last one was dating back five seasons ago. Pair that along with Kevin Durant who is historically known for not staying healthy, that could be a recipe for failure like we saw in Brooklyn with Durant's health along with Kyrie Irving.
Thirdly, if the Suns don't win the championship this year with their newest big 3, and not to mention DeAndre Ayton as well, then they will be looked at as a failure and might have to restructure the team once again. With this trade, I believe the Suns have the most pressure on their backs throughout the association to go and finally win a championship.
Now let's look at the positives. Certainly when you acquire a player that is a certified scorer at all three levels and averages over 20 point per game in his career, you are getting a very good player. With Beal's averages along with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant's points per game averages, they combine to score over 80 points per game.
Each one of those guys is a threat to score at any level and when the game is on the line, opposing defenses are going to have a tough time figuring out who to cover. In today's NBA, the most important thing to have on your team is good shooting and a lot of it. With this deal, the Suns add one of the best shooters in the NBA to a team with some of the best flamethrowers in the NBA as well.
One question that has been highly disputed is, are the Suns done making trades? I say that if they aren't done then DeAndre Ayton will certainly be on the move sometime soon. Ayton was very close to moving on from the Suns to the Pacers last offseason until the Suns matched what the Pacers were offering Ayton and he was forced to re-sign with the Phoenix.
Trading away DeAndre Ayton could loom to have big upside for the Suns. Ayton is a great player and one of the league's top centers, but by trading him it opens up more space on the team for additional depth pieces without his large contract. The Suns will have to make a tough decision to either stick with their guy or move on from him to pursue additional depth to their roster.
This trade certainly has its negatives and positives. Just because the Suns landed Beal does not make them locked up for the NBA championship in the upcoming season. It will be interesting to see if Beal ends up being the missing piece to this Suns team and helps them achieve success this upcoming year in the valley.
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