Multiple sources say that the Washington Wizards are almost done with a deal to trade All-Star guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns. Mark Bartelstein, who works for Priority Sports, is Beal’s agent. He said that the deal is in the works.
Shams Charania of The Athletic says that the Suns are giving the Wizards Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, a group of future second-round picks, and multiple pick swaps in return. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN says that the Wizards will also trade Isaiah Todd as part of the deal.
Bartelstein said Sunday that Beal waived his no-trade clause so he could be sent to the Suns. This was the biggest domino to fall. There is a chance that a third team could be added to the trade in order to get Paul, but the general structure is set.
Paul seems to have been surprised by the news of the deal. Paul said that he found out about the deal while he was flying to New York to be on “Good Morning America” on Monday.
“I was surprised, too,” Paul said with a laugh. “I found out on the plane yesterday flying here. In this league, anything can happen. Just figure out what’s next.”
“I was surprised too … in this league anything can happen.”
Chris Paul says he found out on a flight to NYC on Sunday about reports of being traded to the Washington Wizards by the Phoenix Suns.@CP3#NBA pic.twitter.com/MbDpnf129h
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 19, 2023
Phoenix, which was up 2-0 in the NBA Finals against Milwaukee in 2021 but lost in six games, has a clear goal: to win a championship.
This coming season will be different for the Suns. Frank Vogel will take over as coach from Monty Williams, who was fired and is now in Detroit. Chris Paul, who is still looking for his first championship, will no longer be the starting point guard, and Durant and Booker will have their first training camp together.
Beal has been an All-Star three times in his 10 years in the NBA, all of which have been spent in Washington. The Wizards picked the 29-year-old guard with the third overall pick in the 2012 Draft. In his 10 years with the team, he has averaged 23.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
It is the second big thing that owner Mat Ishbia has bought in Phoenix. Just a few days after taking over the Suns in February, he got Kevin Durant for a huge package of players and first-round draft picks.
This trade is also the start of something new in Washington, which is probably needed. The Wizards haven’t made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons and haven’t won a championship series since 2018. The Wizards will have the eighth pick in Thursday’s draft. Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis could choose to become free agents later this week by not picking up their player options. This seems like a likely move.
The deal was made less than a week after Denver beat Miami in the NBA Finals. The Heat had also been talking with the Wizards about the chance of getting Beal over the last few days.
It’s also the start of a week in which San Antonio will pick Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the NBA draft on Thursday. More players could change teams on draft night when moves often happen.
There are currently three NBA players who have played at least 500 games and average at least 22 points per game. With Beal, Durant, and Booker, Phoenix now has three of them. They will make about $130 million between them next season, so the Suns will have to pay a lot in taxes and salaries to have this chance at the title.
Beal is in the second year of a deal that could last five years and pay him $251 million. The last year is up to him, and it would pay him $57.1 million. He owes about $207.7 million over the next four years.
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Paul, who has been an All-Star 12 times and was on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, scored a career-low 13.9 points, 8.9 assists, and 1.5 steals over 59 games last season. He was also on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. The 37-year-old guard still has two years left on the four-year deal he signed with Phoenix in 2021 after helping the team get to the NBA Finals.
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