Is trading for Bradley Beal the worst move the Phoenix Suns have ever made?

Is trading for Bradley Beal the worst move the Phoenix Suns have ever made?

To be or not to be. Uh I I it’s 5:05 in the afternoon. Tim Rings filling in for Gambo. I really thought this was going to be done by now. Okay. It’s not. Um so we wait another day or another night or whatever it’s going to take. But by all accounts and reporting, including our own John Gamora, while he’s on vacation, it’s imminent. 24 to 48 hours from now, he’s going to get waved and stretched. By all accounts, it’s going to be about $14 million that he’ll give back. Presumably, he’ll make that up with the next team and the Suns will end up waving and stretching about 97 million dollars over five years. So, roughly $20 million a year, give or take a little bit. It It is. Look, I’m I’m not I swear I’m not trying to be a downer about this, but having been somebody who’s lived through just about every transaction the Phoenix Suns have ever made, the acquisition of Bradley Beal has got to be the worst move the organization has ever made in their history. I I mean just in terms of the cost to acquire and then the cost to separate yourself from him. Has there ever been a costlier acquisition in terms of like all the whole package and the expect the expectations that were not met, the inavailability to play, holding the team hostage with the no trade clause when you maybe could have found one team maybe to orchestrate a Jimmy Butler trade to put Butler with Booker and Durant and maybe Butler’s appearance and presence on this team has a similar effect in the second half of the season last year that it that it did on the Golden State Warriors. Uh I went through the the the the three prongs just about a half hour ago. Like every possible downside of Bradley Beal in Phoenix that it happened. It happened. And it’s almost like the Suns almost didn’t not almost I don’t think it ever occurred to the Suns that this would not work. I I think and I think you’re absolutely correct. Matt Ishbia although he didn’t want to come out and say it but privately as they waited remember Beal missed the first part of his first season had like the back thing. Yeah. Matt Ishbia was convinced that once Beiel got back got his sea legs and got rolling in mid January that they were going to be the best team in the NBA. Yes. That they were going to contend for a championship if not win it. like the their expectations were so high that the thought of this thing bottoming out and you never even won a playoff game with Bradley Beal was so far off of their radar in terms of what may happen that they I think they were completely blindsided by this. Yeah. But everything they try to do just, you know, oh well Booker can play the point or you know we’re going to get a guy who’s a four-time all-star and a scoring champ and you know puts up 30 a night. you know, Booker Beal and Durant are going to be unstoppable. And we’ll bring Bradley Beal off the bench and see if that works. See if that helps us with our lineups. We’ll go get a point guard to help put it all together and hold it all together. Yeah, it’s it’s And I think I think something you said a second ago like really resonated about about there there’s a there’s they were so excited about the possibility that they could get Bradley Beal. It’s almost like, did they stop to wonder whether they should get Bradley Beal or not? Like, like, okay, hold on a sec. Let’s just think this through for just a second here before we do this. We’re talking about acquiring the only player in the NBA with a no trade clause. At the time, he was the only one. LeBron didn’t get his until after the trade. We’re talking about acquiring the only player in the NBA with a no trade clause, who’s frequently hurt, who plays a position that we’ve already got. Okay. Now, I know he’s exciting and he’s gonna add this element to our offense that’s gonna make it look like we cannot be stopped. You cannot guard us. Yeah. But but there was such a rush to find the next rush, you know, because Bernie, there were if if you if you remember to what they could do back then, they had just basically acquired Durant late in the season trade deadline, played eight games, couple playoff series. They were still very limited in terms of what what or who they could acquire. And that includes making a decision about Chris Paul and what they were going to do with him who was always you remember Chris Haynes came out and said they’re going to wave Chris Paul. That Chris that came from Chris Paul. Yeah. Chris Paul thought he was getting waved. Like that’s what the Suns were going to do. And suddenly Mark Bartlestein calls up Josh and says, “Hey, do you guys want be? We can make this happen. He’s got a no trade clause. We could he he can funnel himself to you guys. Instead of cutting Chris Paul, you can turn Paul, who you’re ready to cut anyway, into a four-time all-star and former scoring champ. Yeah, he plays the same position as Booker, but you never He’s always hurt, you know, but you’re never you have no other opportunity or option to get a player like this this off season. So, the Suns were stareyed and they and listen, a lot of us were. Sure. I mean, I I when I first heard about it, I texted you and you were on a kayak up in Flagstaff or something. No, I saw I was I was I was uh kaying the Salt River. I was I was the I was doing the lower salt with my wife. I nearly got decapitated that day cuz I spent so much time looking at my phone. I didn’t see the giant tree branch that quite literally nearly took off my head the day of Bradley Beal. Another strike to Bradley Beal. He almost took off your head. But to your point, all I I was and I’ve thought about this like this is going to sound almost like self-s serious, but I’ve reflected a lot on why didn’t why wasn’t I more skeptical of this in the moment? Shouldn’t I have been more skeptical of this? Shouldn’t we all have been like, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second here. Bradley Beal, he that’s a that’s a terrible contract. He’s got a no trade clause. You you’re he’s always hurt. Let’s slow down for a second and think about what we’re doing here. And at no point did I slow down. Clearly, at no point did they slow, you know, and I don’t think most of the fans in the moment they were like, “Yeah, let’s do it.” They were all gung-ho for it. I I I think we all should have taken a breath and realized the possible ramifications of all this. the fact that he was a four-time all-star, had the ability to score over 30 points a game, former scoring champ, all that clouded and basically disguised and covered up the fact that he played the same exact position as Booker. And not only the same position, they’re kind of identical players to a certain extent. To a certain extent, right? I mean, in terms of how they score and what they do, and you overlook the no trade clause because you thought this is a team with Booker and Durant. Wow, they’re adding another great player. And the only reason they were able to add him is because there’s a relationship with the CEO and the father agent and you can Brad Beal can orchestrate it. Plus, you had the $30 million Chris Paul chip to play. Yeah. To get him. Yeah. It you could have gotten Jordan P. You got you brought Bradley Beal to but to apply this to what’s going on right now. This is why when we have the conversation about what they should do about Bradley Beal now, whether they should whether they should wave and stretch and pay off this bill in five years or whether they should just bite the bullet and pay off in two, I want to make sure they’re thinking about it more seriously than maybe they did when they acquired him. like cuz when they acquired him it it felt like there wasn’t a lot of consideration to what is the worst case scenario cuz we’re experiencing it right now. We are currently living the worst case scenario of them acquiring Bradley Beal. I want to make sure before they wave and stretch and have to pay this five-year bill off that they’ve considered the worstcase scenario of the ramifications of that because it could happen. Whatever it is, it could. And just make sure you’re prepared for that. better prepared for the worst case scenario of that than you were when you acquired him in the first place because he clearly weren’t prepared for the worst case scenario of that. I I also think there’s a fundamental issue with the the trust of the fan base. I I think the way the decisions have been made the last two years, like if Sam Prey is running the show and says, “Hey, we’re have to wave and stretch this guy.” You know, fans will be like, “All right, and Sam, we trust we trust if Bob Myers is doing it and Bob we trust. Go ahead, man. We trust you.” But a Suns organization that has made so many missteps over the last 24 plus months is making this decision, fans are like, I don’t know. Thanks for watching Burns and Gambo. Click to see more from the guys and hit the button in the middle to subscribe so you never miss a video from Arizona Sports.

Burns & Gambo with Tim Ring filling in for Gambo break down the worst moves in Suns history and see where trading for Bradley Beal ranks among them.

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