Bradley Beal Could Thrive In A Backup Role w/ Clippers | Rachel Nichols & Chris Mannix

Bradley Beal Could Thrive In A Backup Role w/ Clippers | Rachel Nichols & Chris Mannix

Let’s talk about the Clippers though who made another move this week adding Bradley Beal who was bought out by the Phoenix Suns. Another astronomical buyout. You got Damen Lillard and his hundred plus million. Bradley Beal I think giving back like 90ish million dollars. Just ridiculous number of of buyout and money. But it frees Bradley Beal up. It gets Phoenix under the luxury tax. And Bradley Beal immediately went out and signed a two-year deal with the LA Clippers. Second year a player option. So now he slides into that slot that was vacated by Norman Powell. And I got to tell you, I love everything that the Clippers have done this off seasonason. I think that John Collins makes a lot of sense in that front court. He can play two positions. He’s a lob threat. He’s a shot blocker. Um, you know, he takes a lot of pressure off Kawhi Leonard at at bigger positions having to play uh bigger front court slots. And look, Bradley Bill’s got his defensive deficiencies, but if you put the numbers side by side with Norman Powell, they’re pretty damn comparable. Norman Powell had a career year last year, you know, averaged 20some points, 41% from three. Bradley Beal had a down year by his standards, and still averaged 17, shot 38% from three. So, nearly as much playing time as usual. Yeah, you’re bas you’re basically getting Bradley Beal and John Collins for Norman Pow. I think that’s a win uh for the Clippers. I think the question only question is going to be well there’s two questions. One like is Bradley Beal a starter with that team and and what the hell does a Beal James Harden back court look like defensively? That does not strike me as a uh a couple of stoppers there on the defensive end. And look and also Bradley Beal look he willingly went to the Clippers so he knows what he’s signing up for but he chafed at being kind of a role guy with the Phoenix Suns. Is he more accepting of being a role guy now that he’s no longer max contract Bradley Beal? But overall, I love this this move the last couple of weeks for the Clippers. What did you think of all this? I love it. I love it for the Clippers. I I think it’s a great way to move the franchise forward. They are a win now team because of the age of their key players, and I think this helps them win now. I’m not saying that they’re a favorite to win, but I do think that this puts them closer to the upper echelons of the teams that we’ll be talking about this coming season. And I love it for Brad. I I’ve known Bradley Beiel for a very long time. You know, I’m from Washington. He of course had a long history there. He is a still a very good player and the problem is even though he’s still a very good player and a good team guy, he is not good enough to justify the outrageous salary and the no trade clause that came along with him. So through the lens of that salary and through the lens of that no trade clause, everybody who talked about him was right. He wasn’t worth it. That does not mean he’s not worth adding to your team and being a real asset. I think he’s going to love being in LA. I think the Clippers are going to love having him on their team. He is a pro. He is great in the locker room. And in terms of the starting or not starting, look, obviously, I’m sure they had that conversation. So, whatever they talked about, clearly he’s comfortable with it. The way the reporting has been from Shams is that he first had these conversations with various teams, which the Suns gave him permission to do. And when he found a team in a deal he liked, that’s when they went to the Suns and said, “Okay, we’ll agree to a buyout.” So, clearly, he knew what he wanted. the Clippers knew what they wanted. They had already made some sort of agreement as is permitted and then he did the buyout with the Suns. So, he knows what the score is. What I know about Ty Louu because I’ve watched him do this in various places and the best example I can give you is in Cleveland when Dwayne Wade came there. Um, this is after the Chicago stint. It was pretty clear that Dwayne was at a point in his career where he was probably going to be better coming off the bench or as a role player considering the other options that they had to start on that Cavaliers team. But obviously Dwayne Wade did not see himself as a bench player or a role player. So Ty Louu who is a players coach in addition to being one of the best X and O coaches in the league started him at the beginning of that season and basically let him play and see what the mistake was about having him out there then. let him see that he wasn’t getting not only the results that he wanted, but he was getting, I don’t want to say embarrassed, but he was, you know, younger, better guys were making moves on him that he was not used to them making. So, I wouldn’t be shocked if Tai starts Bradley Beal at the beginning of the season. And maybe it’ll work, right? Maybe it’ll be great and the defensive deficiencies will be made up by other players on that team. Or maybe they will become a turnstyle for opposing scorers and he will have to platoon him and Harden and you know maybe they both start and after four minutes they’re platooned for the rest of the game. I mean Tai is a great and his management of Russell Westbrook when he was there was a great example of it’s not really who you start it’s who you finish with and he is really great at knowing who to finish with and then managing the egos to make sure that that works for everyone. I I just think that this situation couldn’t be a better fit between player, team, coach, and goals for the people who are fans of that organization. I think it’s a brilliant move and, you know, I’m I think very highly of the Cl Clippers front office, and this is another reason why it was multi-steps to get here and they pulled all of them off. Yeah, smart move. Um, I think Norman Pal is probably a more well-rounded player in terms of what he can bring defensively. Um, but you know, you’re getting Bradley Beal basically for nothing and you’re getting John Collins in that front court, which is a huge huge addition for them. Um, yeah, I’m curious to see how the the starting bench stuff works out. Um, you you’re probably better served if you’re the Clippers by having a more defensive-minded guy opposite James Harden, having Bradley Beal come off the bench. They can certainly play stretches together against certain teams, but you know, that’s something that the coaching staff can work out during the course of the season. Overall, that’s just a home run type of offseason, I thought, for the Clippers. I It did make me think about like Bradley Beal and like, you know, there’s obvious appeals to being in LA. It’s it’s great. He wants to play in a great location, right? Like he wanted to go to Miami before and he accepted the deal to Phoenix and now he’s signing with the Clippers. Um, in terms of basketball fits though, like Milwaukee intrigued me. Like Milwaukee is so desperate for backcourt help and they’ve got the one of the best players in the game in Giannis. They just get Miles Turner. They bring Cole Anthony in to be their starting point guard. Bradley Beiel could have done that Chris Middleton thing on that team and been a pretty good uh fit there. Maybe a difference maker for them in the Eastern Conference. But, you know, he wanted to go where he wanted to go. You know, gets his money and the Clippers get a guy that works out. I like the deal for the Clippers. Like the off seasonason uh for the Clippers.

Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols discuss why the Clippers can get the most out of Bradley Beal in a backup role after the Suns finally reached a buyout agreement with the guard
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