Bradley Beal Says Move To Bench Was A Surprise; Says He 'Holds The Cards' With Trades

[RealGM Wiretap]

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal addressed both Mike Budenholzer moving him to the bench, as well as trade rumors surrounding him. One caught Beal off-guard, while the other is something he has full control of.

"One-hundred percent," was Beal's answer when asked if he was surprised that Budenholzer was moving him to the bench.

"I’m a starter in the league," Beal said. "I firmly believe that. I don’t believe that — no disrespect to anyone, but I’m a starter. That’s what I firmly believe. But Coach made his decision. I’m not gonna sit here and argue with it. I’m not gonna sit here and be a distraction. I’m not gonna sit here and be an a–hole. He made his decision. I live with it. He’s the coach, know what I’m saying? I just gotta go out and play my game, and whatever happens from there, happens from there."

Budenholzer said the move was made, because the Suns had to do something different. He also said that the lineup change is not a temporary or "day-to-day thing".

As far as trade rumors go, Beal knows that his no-trade clause allows him to control the trade process.

“If so, I need to be addressed because I hold the cards,” Beal said about a potential trade away from Phoenix. “So, until I’m addressed and somebody says something differently, then I’ll be a Sun.”

Via Mike Vorkunov/The Athletic

[NoStatsGuy]

That no trade clause was such bad business

[Roy T]

That no trade clause was such bad business

I finna call his whole contract bad bidness ngl

[SkyBill40]

I respect him for just owning up and accepting the move without any fuss or becoming a distraction. That's what a pro's pro does. And he can still be a solid contributor and get good minutes coming off the bench as evidenced by his play last night where he outperformed Booker rather handily.

As for the no trade thing, yeah, he's in control. But if he wants to continue being a starter and not becoming a distraction, he'll have to work with the team so that they can find (hopefully find, I mean) a good trade partner that allows him to be the guy he believes himself to be.

Beal is a good player, but the fit here wasn't ever going to work out unless he came off the bench. Forcing him into the starting lineup and having people play out of position is partially to blame for their current rut. I wish him well wherever he ends up.

[spree2kawhi]

I respect him for just owning up and accepting the move without any fuss or becoming a distraction. That's what a pro's pro does. And he can still be a solid contributor and get good minutes coming off the bench as evidenced by his play last night where he outperformed Booker rather handily.

As for the no trade thing, yeah, he's in control. But if he wants to continue being a starter and not becoming a distraction, he'll have to work with the team so that they can find (hopefully find, I mean) a good trade partner that allows him to be the guy he believes himself to be.

Beal is a good player, but the fit here wasn't ever going to work out unless he came off the bench. Forcing him into the starting lineup and having people play out of position is partially to blame for their current rut. I wish him well wherever he ends up.

Well, he didn’t own up. He’s sucked as a player while earning the sixth-highest salary in the entire league. He’s basically Jordan Poole but older. Julius Randle but smaller. Kyle Kuzma but no longer in Washington. Not that he made any difference though. Hell, he’s worse than Zach LaVine but even more expensive. He’s scored 8 and 3 points in games before he was moved to the bench. He didn’t say one word about that. He doesn’t strike me as a person who will own up, rather whine and pout, honestly, and try to score points.

[SkyBill40]

I respect him for just owning up and accepting the move without any fuss or becoming a distraction. That's what a pro's pro does. And he can still be a solid contributor and get good minutes coming off the bench as evidenced by his play last night where he outperformed Booker rather handily.

As for the no trade thing, yeah, he's in control. But if he wants to continue being a starter and not becoming a distraction, he'll have to work with the team so that they can find (hopefully find, I mean) a good trade partner that allows him to be the guy he believes himself to be.

Beal is a good player, but the fit here wasn't ever going to work out unless he came off the bench. Forcing him into the starting lineup and having people play out of position is partially to blame for their current rut. I wish him well wherever he ends up.

Well, he didn’t own up. He’s sucked as a player while earning the sixth-highest salary in the entire league. He’s basically Jordan Poole but older. Julius Randle but smaller. Kyle Kuzma but no longer in Washington. Not that he made any difference though. Hell, he’s worse than Zach LaVine but even more expensive. He’s scored 8 and 3 points in games before he was moved to the bench. He didn’t say one word about that. He doesn’t strike me as a person who will own up, rather whine and pout, honestly, and try to score points.

If we're being honest here, this could be said of a large percentage of today's players.

[puja21]

Well, he didn’t own up. He’s sucked as a player while earning the sixth-highest salary in the entire league. He’s basically Jordan Poole but older. Julius Randle but smaller. Kyle Kuzma but no longer in Washington. Not that he made any difference though. Hell, he’s worse than Zach LaVine but even more expensive. He’s scored 8 and 3 points in games before he was moved to the bench. He didn’t say one word about that. He doesn’t strike me as a person who will own up, rather whine and pout, honestly, and try to score points.

This is hyperbole

Compare Beal's last 2.5 years to Booker and those guys you named:
Beal = .505/.398/.824 on 15.4/4.6/3.3 atts and usage 25.4% in 127 games
Booker = .480/.354/.875 on 19.3/6.3/6.8 atts and usage 30.2% in 150 games
Poole = .424/.344/.868 on 15.5/7.7/4.1 atts and usage 28% in 188 games
LaVine = .485/.388/.843 on 17.1/7.1/4.9 atts and usage 26.9% in 133 games
Kuzma = .456/.330/.742 on 17.9/6.7/3.4 atts and usage 28.6% in 150 games

Lowest usage and highest efficiency. It's not particularly close

He's not a terrible player. He just doesn't play much (and neither does LaVine)

Beal's biggest problem has been availability -- 53 GP per 82 (64.9%) of games since signing for the $250M

But the Wizards knew that going in -- Beal had literally *just* played 40/82 games and hadn't broken 60 in 3 seasons.
(this season would make 6 straight of not playing in >60 games)

When playing, his numbers have been not markedly different since getting the bag
Fantastic shooting: .505/.398/.824 (on 15.4/4.6/3.3 for attempts)
Per game averages of 20 pts 4.1 reb 4.8 ast 1 stl 2.6 TOV 2.3 pf

In the 3 years before the deal (age 26-28):
Worse shooting: .466/.341/.860 on 22/6.8/7.1 atts
Per game avg of 29 pts 4.5 reb 5.6 ast 1.1 stl 3.3 tov 2.3 pf

^Only difference is he had more usage and worse efficiency on the Wizards

Blame the Wizards and Suns, not Beal for "not owning up"
Horrible take.

[WuriderX]

How this dude get a no trade clause?

[xchange55]

Beal is a good player, but the fit here wasn't ever going to work out unless he came off the bench. Forcing him into the starting lineup and having people play out of position is partially to blame for their current rut. I wish him well wherever he ends up.

But how does Jimmy fit here? They have too many guys who are used to getting the ball, rather than building a well rounded team.

[SkyBill40]

Beal is a good player, but the fit here wasn't ever going to work out unless he came off the bench. Forcing him into the starting lineup and having people play out of position is partially to blame for their current rut. I wish him well wherever he ends up.

But how does Jimmy fit here? They have too many guys who are used to getting the ball, rather than building a well rounded team.

Butler allows Booker to stop playing out of position at SF and go back to being a shooting guard as is his skillset. Butler also adds a layer of toughness that just isn't present right now. He is also a proven playoff performer. Butler also dramatically improves the position defensively. As for him being the key to a well rounded squad, yeah, no. He's another ball dominant player and is going to want his touches. That much has been the case at every stop he's made.

If you feel to the contrary, feel free to add on your take.

[xchange55]

Beal is a good player, but the fit here wasn't ever going to work out unless he came off the bench. Forcing him into the starting lineup and having people play out of position is partially to blame for their current rut. I wish him well wherever he ends up.

But how does Jimmy fit here? They have too many guys who are used to getting the ball, rather than building a well rounded team.

Butler allows Booker to stop playing out of position at SF and go back to being a shooting guard as is his skillset. Butler also adds a layer of toughness that just isn't present right now. He is also a proven playoff performer. Butler also dramatically improves the position defensively. As for him being the key to a well rounded squad, yeah, no. He's another ball dominant player and is going to want his touches. That much has been the case at every stop he's made.

If you feel to the contrary, feel free to add on your take.

I agree that Butler adds some much needed grit to a generally soft team. But his defensive skill has limited value in the 3-ball era and it's so easy to get switches. So we're just back to having too many ball dominant scorers - just a different set of them.

[Revived]

How this dude get a no trade clause?

Is the GM who gave him the no-trade clause still employed by some team in the NBA? He deserves a slap on the head.

[Vegeta10176]

How this dude get a no trade clause?

Is the GM who gave him the no-trade clause still employed by some team in the NBA? He deserves a slap on the head.

What about the one who traded for him and agreed to keep it in place?

[Vegeta10176]

But how does Jimmy fit here? They have too many guys who are used to getting the ball, rather than building a well rounded team.

Butler allows Booker to stop playing out of position at SF and go back to being a shooting guard as is his skillset. Butler also adds a layer of toughness that just isn't present right now. He is also a proven playoff performer. Butler also dramatically improves the position defensively. As for him being the key to a well rounded squad, yeah, no. He's another ball dominant player and is going to want his touches. That much has been the case at every stop he's made.

If you feel to the contrary, feel free to add on your take.

I agree that Butler adds some much needed grit to a generally soft team. But his defensive skill has limited value in the 3-ball era and it's so easy to get switches. So we're just back to having too many ball dominant scorers - just a different set of them.

Butler scores in different ways though something they need.. Durant Booker Beal all score in similar ways.. Butler is a much better fit.. Durant just fits in anywhere he gets his shots and scores his points effienctly it would be booker and Butler who would need to fit together and I think they can work.. They would be much better but a contender I don't know.

[NoStatsGuy]

How this dude get a no trade clause?

Is the GM who gave him the no-trade clause still employed by some team in the NBA? He deserves a slap on the head.

What about the one who traded for him and agreed to keep it in place?

you cant trade for a player and change his contract. you would have to buy him out and make him agree to a new contract.

[NoStatsGuy]

Well, he didn’t own up. He’s sucked as a player while earning the sixth-highest salary in the entire league. He’s basically Jordan Poole but older. Julius Randle but smaller. Kyle Kuzma but no longer in Washington. Not that he made any difference though. Hell, he’s worse than Zach LaVine but even more expensive. He’s scored 8 and 3 points in games before he was moved to the bench. He didn’t say one word about that. He doesn’t strike me as a person who will own up, rather whine and pout, honestly, and try to score points.

This is hyperbole

Compare Beal's last 2.5 years to Booker and those guys you named:
Beal = .505/.398/.824 on 15.4/4.6/3.3 atts and usage 25.4% in 127 games
Booker = .480/.354/.875 on 19.3/6.3/6.8 atts and usage 30.2% in 150 games
Poole = .424/.344/.868 on 15.5/7.7/4.1 atts and usage 28% in 188 games
LaVine = .485/.388/.843 on 17.1/7.1/4.9 atts and usage 26.9% in 133 games
Kuzma = .456/.330/.742 on 17.9/6.7/3.4 atts and usage 28.6% in 150 games

Lowest usage and highest efficiency. It's not particularly close

He's not a terrible player. He just doesn't play much (and neither does LaVine)

Beal's biggest problem has been availability -- 53 GP per 82 (64.9%) of games since signing for the $250M

But the Wizards knew that going in -- Beal had literally *just* played 40/82 games and hadn't broken 60 in 3 seasons.
(this season would make 6 straight of not playing in >60 games)

When playing, his numbers have been not markedly different since getting the bag
Fantastic shooting: .505/.398/.824 (on 15.4/4.6/3.3 for attempts)
Per game averages of 20 pts 4.1 reb 4.8 ast 1 stl 2.6 TOV 2.3 pf

In the 3 years before the deal (age 26-28):
Worse shooting: .466/.341/.860 on 22/6.8/7.1 atts
Per game avg of 29 pts 4.5 reb 5.6 ast 1.1 stl 3.3 tov 2.3 pf

^Only difference is he had more usage and worse efficiency on the Wizards

Blame the Wizards and Suns, not Beal for "not owning up"
Horrible take.

good to see, that my observation on him wasnt that far off. he was an all star caliber player when he got that contract. and if we are being honest the wizards will not get any free agents or players demanding trades to them. they dont have many options. its easy for us to say its a bad contract (and it is for sure). but if you look at it from washingtons perspective i can see why they gave him a big contract. the NTC was a really bad decision and demand to fold to from their perspective. but what would we do if we are the GM of the wizards. we gotta spend that salary anyway and at least beal has put some fans in the seats. people forget sometimes, that this is a business aswell. if fans buy beal jerseys and come to see him, thats good for the wizards.

was a bad trade by the suns aswell, but what other options did they have? they have decided to go for the big 3 approach and beal was the only one to get. they cant wait for 5 years for some draft picks to develop, their window is supposedly open until KD cant play anymore. And beal wasnt as bad as people make it out to be he was putting up solid numbers in washington and can easily be the 3rd best player on a contender. but he struggled to adept to that role, no one knew that before.

i know its cool to meme on beal, ben simmons and all these guys. but its not always black and white as fans would like to see it.

[spree2kawhi]

Well, he didn’t own up. He’s sucked as a player while earning the sixth-highest salary in the entire league. He’s basically Jordan Poole but older. Julius Randle but smaller. Kyle Kuzma but no longer in Washington. Not that he made any difference though. Hell, he’s worse than Zach LaVine but even more expensive. He’s scored 8 and 3 points in games before he was moved to the bench. He didn’t say one word about that. He doesn’t strike me as a person who will own up, rather whine and pout, honestly, and try to score points.

This is hyperbole

Compare Beal's last 2.5 years to Booker and those guys you named:
Beal = .505/.398/.824 on 15.4/4.6/3.3 atts and usage 25.4% in 127 games
Booker = .480/.354/.875 on 19.3/6.3/6.8 atts and usage 30.2% in 150 games
Poole = .424/.344/.868 on 15.5/7.7/4.1 atts and usage 28% in 188 games
LaVine = .485/.388/.843 on 17.1/7.1/4.9 atts and usage 26.9% in 133 games
Kuzma = .456/.330/.742 on 17.9/6.7/3.4 atts and usage 28.6% in 150 games

Lowest usage and highest efficiency. It's not particularly close

He's not a terrible player. He just doesn't play much (and neither does LaVine)

Beal's biggest problem has been availability -- 53 GP per 82 (64.9%) of games since signing for the $250M

But the Wizards knew that going in -- Beal had literally *just* played 40/82 games and hadn't broken 60 in 3 seasons.
(this season would make 6 straight of not playing in >60 games)

When playing, his numbers have been not markedly different since getting the bag
Fantastic shooting: .505/.398/.824 (on 15.4/4.6/3.3 for attempts)
Per game averages of 20 pts 4.1 reb 4.8 ast 1 stl 2.6 TOV 2.3 pf

In the 3 years before the deal (age 26-28):
Worse shooting: .466/.341/.860 on 22/6.8/7.1 atts
Per game avg of 29 pts 4.5 reb 5.6 ast 1.1 stl 3.3 tov 2.3 pf

^Only difference is he had more usage and worse efficiency on the Wizards

Blame the Wizards and Suns, not Beal for "not owning up"
Horrible take.

good to see, that my observation on him wasnt that far off. he was an all star caliber player when he got that contract. and if we are being honest the wizards will not get any free agents or players demanding trades to them. they dont have many options. its easy for us to say its a bad contract (and it is for sure). but if you look at it from washingtons perspective i can see why they gave him a big contract. the NTC was a really bad decision and demand to fold to from their perspective. but what would we do if we are the GM of the wizards. we gotta spend that salary anyway and at least beal has put some fans in the seats. people forget sometimes, that this is a business aswell. if fans buy beal jerseys and come to see him, thats good for the wizards.

was a bad trade by the suns aswell, but what other options did they have? they have decided to go for the big 3 approach and beal was the only one to get. they cant wait for 5 years for some draft picks to develop, their window is supposedly open until KD cant play anymore. And beal wasnt as bad as people make it out to be he was putting up solid numbers in washington and can easily be the 3rd best player on a contender. but he struggled to adept to that role, no one knew that before.

i know its cool to meme on beal, ben simmons and all these guys. but its not always black and white as fans would like to see it.

I get it, and there is talent, but with these guys there are always lots of “buts” and “not as bad“ phrasings (as I tried to show by highlighting some of your post), so take that for what it’s worth. Let me put it this way: I prefer good role players.

[puja21]

This is hyperbole

Compare Beal's last 2.5 years to Booker and those guys you named:
Beal = .505/.398/.824 on 15.4/4.6/3.3 atts and usage 25.4% in 127 games
Booker = .480/.354/.875 on 19.3/6.3/6.8 atts and usage 30.2% in 150 games
Poole = .424/.344/.868 on 15.5/7.7/4.1 atts and usage 28% in 188 games
LaVine = .485/.388/.843 on 17.1/7.1/4.9 atts and usage 26.9% in 133 games
Kuzma = .456/.330/.742 on 17.9/6.7/3.4 atts and usage 28.6% in 150 games

Lowest usage and highest efficiency. It's not particularly close

He's not a terrible player. He just doesn't play much (and neither does LaVine)

Beal's biggest problem has been availability -- 53 GP per 82 (64.9%) of games since signing for the $250M

But the Wizards knew that going in -- Beal had literally *just* played 40/82 games and hadn't broken 60 in 3 seasons.
(this season would make 6 straight of not playing in >60 games)

When playing, his numbers have been not markedly different since getting the bag
Fantastic shooting: .505/.398/.824 (on 15.4/4.6/3.3 for attempts)
Per game averages of 20 pts 4.1 reb 4.8 ast 1 stl 2.6 TOV 2.3 pf

In the 3 years before the deal (age 26-28):
Worse shooting: .466/.341/.860 on 22/6.8/7.1 atts
Per game avg of 29 pts 4.5 reb 5.6 ast 1.1 stl 3.3 tov 2.3 pf

^Only difference is he had more usage and worse efficiency on the Wizards

Blame the Wizards and Suns, not Beal for "not owning up"
Horrible take.

good to see, that my observation on him wasnt that far off. he was an all star caliber player when he got that contract. and if we are being honest the wizards will not get any free agents or players demanding trades to them. they dont have many options. its easy for us to say its a bad contract (and it is for sure). but if you look at it from washingtons perspective i can see why they gave him a big contract. the NTC was a really bad decision and demand to fold to from their perspective. but what would we do if we are the GM of the wizards. we gotta spend that salary anyway and at least beal has put some fans in the seats. people forget sometimes, that this is a business aswell. if fans buy beal jerseys and come to see him, thats good for the wizards.

was a bad trade by the suns aswell, but what other options did they have? they have decided to go for the big 3 approach and beal was the only one to get. they cant wait for 5 years for some draft picks to develop, their window is supposedly open until KD cant play anymore. And beal wasnt as bad as people make it out to be he was putting up solid numbers in washington and can easily be the 3rd best player on a contender. but he struggled to adept to that role, no one knew that before.

i know its cool to meme on beal, ben simmons and all these guys. but its not always black and white as fans would like to see it.

I get it, and there is talent, but with these guys there are always lots of “buts” and “not as bad“ phrasings (as I tried to show by highlighting some of your post), so take that for what it’s worth. Let me put it this way: I prefer good role players.

100% agree.

The situation and contract is bad, and as soon as he signed it, Beal's presence on a roster was going to hinder contending

I would take flexibility every day

You get more bites at the apple avoiding supermax contracts -- specifically the 7+ year veteran ones where they take up 30-35% of the cap for sometimes 5 years. These guys are at or past their prime after 7 years. It's never going to be a plus financially for the team.

I get that teams like Washington, Charlotte, Sacramento, Portland, Minnesota etc (who have been bad small markets for most of the last 25 years) feel obligated but I don't think in a vacuum that fans are buying tickets to watch 1 guy score 30.

You still get team control with rookie contracts and RFA

You also get easier/more chances to retool if a key players' health outlooks or development curves change ... or even if the league just "changes" and you need to unload a bunch of Roy Hibberts for shooters (or whatever shift comes next)

Easier to stay on upward path if you let an age 29 Beal walk.

[NoStatsGuy]

good to see, that my observation on him wasnt that far off. he was an all star caliber player when he got that contract. and if we are being honest the wizards will not get any free agents or players demanding trades to them. they dont have many options. its easy for us to say its a bad contract (and it is for sure). but if you look at it from washingtons perspective i can see why they gave him a big contract. the NTC was a really bad decision and demand to fold to from their perspective. but what would we do if we are the GM of the wizards. we gotta spend that salary anyway and at least beal has put some fans in the seats. people forget sometimes, that this is a business aswell. if fans buy beal jerseys and come to see him, thats good for the wizards.

was a bad trade by the suns aswell, but what other options did they have? they have decided to go for the big 3 approach and beal was the only one to get. they cant wait for 5 years for some draft picks to develop, their window is supposedly open until KD cant play anymore. And beal wasnt as bad as people make it out to be he was putting up solid numbers in washington and can easily be the 3rd best player on a contender. but he struggled to adept to that role, no one knew that before.

i know its cool to meme on beal, ben simmons and all these guys. but its not always black and white as fans would like to see it.

I get it, and there is talent, but with these guys there are always lots of “buts” and “not as bad“ phrasings (as I tried to show by highlighting some of your post), so take that for what it’s worth. Let me put it this way: I prefer good role players.

100% agree.

The situation and contract is bad, and as soon as he signed it, Beal's presence on a roster was going to hinder contending

I would take flexibility every day

You get more bites at the apple avoiding supermax contracts -- specifically the 7+ year veteran ones where they take up 30-35% of the cap for sometimes 5 years. These guys are at or past their prime after 7 years. It's never going to be a plus financially for the team.

I get that teams like Washington, Charlotte, Sacramento, Portland, Minnesota etc (who have been bad small markets for most of the last 25 years) feel obligated but I don't think in a vacuum that fans are buying tickets to watch 1 guy score 30.

You still get team control with rookie contracts and RFA

You also get easier/more chances to retool if a key players' health outlooks or development curves change ... or even if the league just "changes" and you need to unload a bunch of Roy Hibberts for shooters (or whatever shift comes next)

Easier to stay on upward path if you let an age 29 Beal walk.

i mean, i agree, i have alrady stated multple time on this board, that beals money is better spend on a couple really solid players. i just wanted to make a point that the contract was kind of normal for the type of player he was at that time, especially given the context of where he played. i mean besides the ntc of course. that doesnt mean the contract didnt turn out to be bad. it is a very bad contract right now.

and also we are not living in a timeline where those kind of role players grow on trees. sometimes you need to play the card thats dealt to you. we can talk about what we have done, what would be perfect and talk about all those unrealistic scenarios but unfortunately its not always possible to actually make it a reality.