Bradley Beal has been the focus of the NBA this week. On June 14, Shams Charania revealed that the Washington Wizards were working with franchise cornerstone Bradley Beal to find a trade the veteran would agree to. Beal has played his entire career in Washington after being drafted in 2012. However, the Wizards have only made the playoffs once in the last five seasons. Treading water at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, they are in desperate need of a full rebuild. With Beal still in his prime, it seemed like the perfect time to maximize his value.
With Beal holding a valuable no-trade clause in his current $207 million contract, the Wizards would have to be careful about what trade offers they pursued. The Heat, Bucks, Kings, and Nets were all reported as possible trade partners. Later, it was reported that the Heat and Suns were the finalists for Beal's services. Both teams were reportedly offering major trade packages to secure the veteran's services. Despite this, it appears that the Wizards have reached a deal.
Phoenix Suns Trade For Bradley Beal
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Washington Wizards are finalizing a trade that will send Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns. There he will form a big three alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. In exchange for Beal, the Suns are expected to send Chris Paul, Landry Shermet, a number of second-round picks, and some additional pick swaps to Washington. Reportedly, Miami had offered Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, and "multiple first-round picks" in exchange for Beal.
Speaking to ESPN, Beal's agent Mark Bartelstein opened up about the process that lead to the trade. "This was an extremely complicated process with so many different hurdles to get through, and Ted Leonsis and Michael Winger were unbelievable partners in making this happen." The deal is expected to be finalized and officially announced later this week. The deal was likely helped by the fact that Bartelstein's son Josh is the current CEO of the Suns. However, it shows that the Suns intend to keep their foot on the gas in their hunt for the so-far elusive NBA championship. Meanwhile, the Wizards will be able to rebuild under the veteran leadership of Paul. The trade also appears to resolve Paul's uncertain future in Phoenix. However, this may be just the first of many dominoes to fall as the NBA Draft approaches. Follow all the latest sports news here at HotNewHipHop.
[via]
