Bradley Beal is a Phoenix Sun. The shooting guard replaces Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, and a few second-round draft picks and pick-swaps. He joins the Suns “Big Three” as the Suns lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Denver Nuggets in Six Games. This move changes the landscape of the NBA. Beal now puts the Suns in a believed contender role. In 2022-2023, Beal scored 23.2 points a game on 50.2% field goal percentage and 36.5% from three-point range.
So what does he bring to the Suns, and what are the concerns?
Bradley Beal: What Does He Bring the Suns?
The Benefits
He is a Consistent Scorer
The Wizards-Star Guard brings consistent scoring to the Suns, as he averages 22.1 points for his career during his stint with the Washington Wizards. His scoring is a big get for any team.
He scored 22 or more points in the last eight seasons, including a career-best 31.3 points per game in the 2020-2021 season. Additionally, Beal finished second that year in the scoring title running, just inches behind Steph Curry for that honor. Beal is a terrific scorer and will help bring another consistent scoring option to the Suns.
Beal Produces in the Postseason
Unfortunately, Beal only saw action in the playoffs five times in his 11-year career. However, Beal shows excellent promise for the Suns based on his past production in the postseason. In the Playoffs, Beal boasts a career average of 22.1 points per game and recently a 30-point per game mark in the 2020-2021 season. With the Wizards, Beal led the charge to three Eastern Conference Semifinal appearances with his scoring and clutch shot-making with his Co-Star John Wall from 2014-2017. Therefore, Beal brings another trusted piece to the Suns’ roster. He helps them produce better offense in the postseason.
Shoots The Three Well
Beal is a career three-point shooter of 37.2%, and for the Suns, that is an added bonus to a team that did not take or make a lot of three-point shots this past season. The Suns were 24th in three-point rate in the 2022-2023 season, as their rate was only 35.5%. Golden State and Boston, two contenders, produced over a 47% three-point rate. Beal will help generate more threes, as he takes about six threes per game for his career (5.9).
The Concerns
Suns’ Lack of Depth
With this move being made, the Suns give up a lot of draft picks, and Landry Shamet depletes a bench that is already thin, to begin with. The Suns were last among the 16 playoff teams in Bench scoring at 14.4 points per contest and were 14th in field goal percentage at 36.7% shooting from the field. With Beal coming in and the new NBA Cap rules, it will be hard to generate depth to compete with teams like the Nuggets.
Added and Concerning Defensive Responsibility
With this move being made, Phoenix shifts all of its defensive responsibility to its four key stars. Durant has shown glimpses of success defensively with Golden State, and Booker tries very hard on Defense. However, the concerns lie with a lack of effort on the defensive end from DeAndre Ayton and a lack of wing defenders. The Wizards, with Beal, produced the 21st rank defense in the NBA. Beal was also 202 out of 539 players in individual defensive win shares, which is mediocre. Beal will be asked to become a good defender every game for Phoenix to bolster a great defense that can make up for their lack of wing-defender depth.
The Last Word on Beal to the Suns
Although the Nuggets won the NBA Championship, Beal to the Suns is a blockbuster trade. Beal provides a championship window for the Suns. The “super-team” era remains in full effect. While Beal does bring many benefits to help make this experiment fit, there are also major concerns. With these concerns, the Suns need to address them for the first NBA Championship in franchise history to happen.
