In the 2023 offseason, then-Wizards star Bradley Beal was keen on leaving the team and joining a title contender. The guard had a no-trade clause in his contract, giving him the power to handpick his next destination. Several franchises were interested in landing the three-time All-Star, including the Bucks. However, Milwaukee’s lack of loyalty led to him souring on considering them as an option.
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During his appearance on Theo Pinson’s Run Your Race Podcast, the Suns star revealed that the Bucks were willing to trade Khris Middleton to the Wizards to land him, only two years after he played a critical role in helping them win the NBA title, which he found unappealing. He said,
“[The Bucks] were trading Middleton… The loyalty part of that. Trading someone that won you a championship in the previous year, and was a key piece to y’all winning a championship, it ain’t sit right with me.”
Bradley Beal, on the process leading up to the trade:
“Milwaukee, I was on the fence. They [would’ve been] trading Middleton. The loyalty part of that … it didn’t sit right with me.
“My agent calls. I said, ‘What’s Miami talking about?
“He said, what do you think of Phoenix?”… pic.twitter.com/LQ3jklnAUy
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 8, 2024
The Bucks were keen on acquiring a superstar-level player following their first-round series loss to the eighth-seeded Heat in the 2023 playoffs. They were willing to make a move for the Wizards star, but it would involve trading Middleton.
The Bucks guard had a player option in his contract. He would have had to opt into his deal or agree to a sign-and-trade for Beal’s move to Milwaukee to go through. However, he wasn’t sure Middleton would have considered either option. The Suns star said,
“I don’t know many people going to opt in to willing get traded to D.C.”
To make the deal more difficult, the Bucks weren’t Beal’s top choice. The veteran wanted to join the Heat but when they stalled and the Suns came calling, he decided to take his talents to Phoenix. Explaining what transpired, he said,
“[Kevin Durant] hit me ‘What’re we doing?’ [Devin Booker] hit me ‘What’re we doing?’ I didn’t get that nowhere else. It kinda felt like I was in college again, felt like I was getting recruited. I felt wanted.”
Shortly after, the Suns pulled the trigger to acquire Beal, forming a new Big 3 of the former Wizards star, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. They instantly became title favorites but their performance did not match the expectations.
Beal’s tough debut season with the Suns
The guard’s debut season as a Sun was marred by injuries and he was limited to only 53 games. Playing alongside Booker and Durant also diminished his role on offense. The result was him having his worst season as a scorer since the 2015-16 season. He averaged 18.2 points, the fewest he has tallied in eight years.
Outside of Beal’s underwhelming season, the Suns struggled to find any chemistry on the court and finished the regular season as the sixth-seed in the West and were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Timberwolves. It was a season to forget for everyone associated with the franchise.
The team is heading into the 2024-25 season with a new head coach in Mike Bundenholzer and a healthy roster. They’ll look to bounce back in grand fashion and look to end Phoenix’s wait for an NBA title.
