It seems like the sun is setting on a player with the worst contract in the NBA. According to several sources, Bradley Beal's days with the Suns have come to an end. Phoenix informer John Gambadoro claims that Beal has only two options this summer: a trade or a contract buyout.
"Bradley Beal will not continue with this team... They will either trade him or buy out his contract... I don't think there's any scenario where Bradley Beal comes back to play for the Suns."
He is the sticking point for Phoenix: Beal has a no-trade clause. Will he accept being traded, or will the Suns simply take the step and buy out his contract, paying the remaining $110 million over the next two years?
It's an understatement to say Beal's tenure in Phoenix has not gone well. According to Cleaning the Glass, the team's expected win efficiency was -16 with Beal on the court this season. Additionally, he ranked in the 19th percentile of all league players in points per possession while on the court (meaning 81% of players were better than him in that category).
Beal's Dismal Numbers in Phoenix
Beal has averaged 17.6 points in his two years in Phoenix, five points less per game than in his previous 11 years in Washington. Furthermore, he has only played 53 games in each of those two seasons with the Suns, not having played more than 60 games in a season in seven years.
Now that Kevin Durant is gone, the Suns have no reason to keep Beal as they need to move in a new direction. Durant's trade was just the beginning. Beal's contract buyout will be the next big, and much harder, step.
This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La nueva tarea de los Phoenix Suns tras el traspaso de Kevin Durant