It’s official. Bradley Beal is headed to the Valley of the Sun to contend for a title.
After 11 seasons and 695 games, Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards agreed recently to part ways, and now the Wizards have completed a blockbuster trade that gives Brad a fresh start on the Phoenix Suns, a championship caliber team.
Washington officially dealt BB to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday in a multi-player deal.
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Jordan Goodwin, who played for Bradley Beal Elite in the Nike EYBL and considers Brad a mentor also heads to Phoenix in the deal along with 2021 second round pick Isaiah Todd. The Wizards received veteran point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Landry Shamet, six second round picks and the opportunity to swap first round picks with the Suns in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.
But the big piece is Brad, who lands with a Suns team looking to make the moves necessary to get back to the NBA Finals after being eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals each of the last two seasons.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bradley, Jordan and Isaiah to the Phoenix Suns as we continue to build one of the premier organizations in all of sports,” Suns Owner Mat Ishbia said. “Bradley Beal is one of the best players in the NBA and brings so much to our team including incredible work ethic, great character, and the mindset of a champion. We are committed to bringing an NBA championship to Phoenix and I could not be more excited about how this organization is coming together heading into the upcoming season.”
In Phoenix, Brad joins Kevin Durant, acquired by the Suns last season, and Devin Booker, an eight-year vet who has been with the franchise his entire career, to form a new Big Three that the Suns believe will put them in contention for the NBA Championship for the next several years.
BB departs D.C. as one of the franchise’s all-time greats. Over 11 seasons he amassed 15,391 points, second in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Elgin Hayes (15,551). He is third in franchise history in games played with 695, minutes played with 24,091, third in assists with 2,972, second in steals with 772 and is the franchise leader in three-pointers made with 1,512.
Brad was drafted by the Wizards with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and quickly teamed with fellow franchise legend John Wall to form one of the most dynamic backcourt duos in the league. They made the postseason in three of Brad’s first five seasons with the franchise, winning their first round series each year but bowing out each time in the second round.
By his fifth season, Brad had emerged as one of the NBA’s premier players and in Year 6 he was selected as a NBA All-Star, the first of three times he would be selected to play in the league’s star showcase as a representative of the Wizards. In a breakout 2020-21 campaign, No. 3 averaged a career-high 31.3 points and was selected third team All-NBA. That season, he guided the Wizards to their first playoff berth in three years.
Injuries have hampered Brad’s progress in the two years since, and Washington couldn’t find the right chemistry to make a playoff run during those seasons.
At the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, Brad met with team brass and it was decided that the best avenue for both the franchise and for Brad as a player wanting to contend for a championship, was to go their separate ways and the Wizards honored BB’s request to join a Phoenix team in the thick of contention.
“Brad possesses the ability to score on all three levels and impact the game on both ends of the court,” Suns GM James Jones said. “His professionalism and desire to win is infectious and something that will elevate our program. Jordan’s versatility and tenacity, and Isaiah’s combination of size and skill are great fits for our style of the play and complement our team.”
With Durant, already one of the league’s all-time greats and Booker, one of its rising stars, Brad gives the Suns a scoring trio the likes of which has rarely been seen in NBA history. Booker averaged a career-high 27.8 points per game last season and after the midseason trade, Durant played eight regular season games and 11 playoff games averaging 27.7 points per game.
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