With less than two weeks to go until the trade deadline, the Chicago Bulls have engaged in trade talks with the Phoenix Suns regarding three-time All-Star Bradley Beal.
The Suns acquired Beal from the Washington Wizards during the 2023 offseason. His ill-fit in Phoenix alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant has led to a shift to the bench for Beal. That has not sat well with the former No. 3 overall pick.
Still, trading Beal (to the Bulls or another team) would be a means to Jimmy Butler for the Suns.
“The Bulls and the Suns have talked, and the concept of Bradley Beal ending up in Chicago has been discussed,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast on January 27. “I’m not saying it’s gonna happen. I’m not saying it’s close or whatever. Obviously, Beal has a no-trade clause.”
Beal’s 17.2 points per game are his fewest since the 2015-16 season. His 56.1% effective field goal mark is the third-best of his career.
However, the financial aspect lords over a potential deal.
Bulls Warned About Potential Bradley Beal Trade
Beal, 31, is in Year 3 of a five-year, $251 million contract and has the only full no-trade clause in the NBA. Windhorst lobbied against the Bulls making such a trade, though he also noted that it was not imminent.
“I just can’t believe that Chicago would do that deal,” Windhorst said. “Maybe it’s never going to happen, but it’s been discussed. What do you want me to say?”
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps agreed with Windhorst’s sentiments and took his criticism a step further.
“I hope they don’t, because it would be one of the dumbest trades ever if they did,” Bontemps said in reaction to Windhort’s report. “If you watch the Phoenix Suns trade away – as [Utah Jazz general manager] Justin Zanik correctly pointed out was the best asset on the market – the 2031 Suns’ first-round pick … and by the way he was correct. Because teams around the league were eyeing that pick and thinking, ‘Hey, we can get some really good stuff for that pick because we have no idea where the Phoenix Suns team is going.’
“If the Chicago Bulls turn around and take some combination of three picks that are most likely to be 25 or later to take on the worst contract in the league for a guy who’s owed $110 million the next two years – who has a no-trade clause, which means he can’t actually get traded anywhere – it would be the height of insanity to do that.”
Tim Bontemps: Bradley Beal ‘Worst Contact’ in NBA
Bontemps argued Beal’s deal was the “worst” in the NBA. Worse than the three-year, $192.9 million pact that Philadelphia 76ers sar Joel Embiid signed.
“100% is the worst contract in the league because you can’t do anything with it. You can talk about Joel Embiid, you could say whatever other crap you want about any other player. If you have Bradley Bill on your team you’re at the merccy of whatever Bradley Beal wants to do. That’s why it’s the worst contract in the league, because it’s the only one you can’t move. You can move any other deal; you can’t move that one, because you have to get his permission to do it. You have to.
“It’s a way overvalued contract on top of it. Zach LaVine is still a guy that people are not super enamored with in the trade market. But Zach LaVine has been a borderline All-Star this year. He’s had a very good year. And at some point in the next couple years, the Bulls will be able to get positive value for Zach. So trading now at this kind of price would be completely insane.”
LaVine, 29, is in Year 3 of a five-year, $215.1 million deal.
Bontemps reiterated his point, urging the Bulls to hold off on a potential Beal-LaVine swap. Windhorst noted Lavine would not need to be involved.
But an executive told him they figured Beal, Butler, LaVine, and Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans could all be traded for each other in some capacity. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, also a panelist on the episode, argued that there is a scenario in which the Bulls make a wise move.
That deal would require more than three teams, so perhaps Windhort’s scenario plays out.
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