The Los Angeles Clippers have made a big move in free agency as the team has re-signed free-agent guard Bradley Beal.
Beal was a free agent and was linked to contenders like the Miami Heat this offseason, but in the end, he returned to the Clippers, the team he played with last season.
Clippers Re-Sign Bradley Beal
ESPN’s Sham Charania broke the news on Thursday that the Clippers have brought back Beal on a two-year, $13.2 million contract with a player option for the second season.
“Free agent Bradley Beal has agreed to a two-year, $13.2 million deal to return to the Los Angeles Clippers, with a player option in the second season, Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN,” Charania wrote on X.
Charania also added the following information about Beal re-upping with the Clippers after playing in just six games for Los Angeles in his first and only season with the club.
“Beal explored options in free agency upon declining his $5.6M player option, giving the Clippers more salary space to pursue deals as well, before the sides landed on his return in LA after the three-time NBA All-Star rehabbed from hip surgery that cost him most of last season,” added Charania in a follow-up post.
Clippers Still Waiting for Kawhi Leonard Saga to End
The Clippers may have re-signed Beal, which is a nice move for the team in free agency, but they are still waiting for the Kawhi Leonard saga to end, as his trade to the Toronto Raptors has been held up in limbo due to the Aspiration investigation, which is still not complete nearly a year after it began.
The hope is that the Clippers and Raptors can complete the trade, sending Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and multiple draft picks and swaps, but right now, that trade is up in the air as both teams await the results of the law firm’s findings.
In the meantime, though, the Clippers need to keep working on their roster, and bringing back Beal is certainly a good move for them, provided he stays healthy.
A former three-time NBA All-Star and one-time Third Team All-NBA player with the Washington Wizards, Beal’s career has fallen off since a trade to the Phoenix Suns three years ago after waiving his No Trade Clause to go to Phoenix. Things did not work out for Beal in the desert, and the team waived him and stretched his contract.
He then signed with the Clippers last year for $5.3 million, but a hip injury caused him to play in only six games.
Still, if he is back to health, then Beal can bring tons of scoring to the Clippers, who are going to need buckets if Leonard is traded to Toronto, provided the trade can be completed with the Raptors.
The Clippers also have to decide what they are going to do with restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin, who remains an RFA looking for a new contract on the open market this offseason.
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