Bradley Beal to sign with Clippers after massive buyout from Suns | Is LA a contender out West?

Bradley Beal to sign with Clippers after massive buyout from Suns | Is LA a contender out West?

We’ve got breaking news out of the NBA where the Suns have bought out the remainder of Bradley Beiel’s contract, clearing the way for him to sign with the LA Clippers. That is according to ESPN. It’s going to be a 2-year, 11 million deal with Los Angeles, featuring a player option in the second season. Brad Beal was entering the fourth season of his 5-year, $251 million deal signed when he was still a member of the Washington Wizards. The Suns will be using the stretch of provision for the remainder of his contract, paying Beal the remainder of the money owed over the next two seasons. All right, let’s talk more about this with Ashley Nicole Moss and our coach Avery Johnson. Always great to see you guys. This big breaking news here is that the Suns agreeing to buy out the remainder of Bradley Beal’s deal, clearing the way for him to go and join the Clippers. Coach, I’ll come to you first here if we reflect on his time with Phoenix. Why do you think it ultimately didn’t work out there? Especially when we think of the super team and the superstars that he was paired with like KD, like Devin Booker, lack of production. If Bradley Bill played at a high level, similar to what he played with the Washington Wizards, um this is not going to happen. Um you you look at it could be an injury situation plus production uh which happened with um Damen Lillard uh with Milwaukee that that one was really a shocker but at the end of the day this experiment with Bill Durant and Booker it didn’t work out. Um be Booker and Kevin Durant needed Bradley Bill to play highly efficient basketball. there there were times when you know he refused to shoot the basketball and this is a outstanding player. This guy still got some really good years left on in his game but he just didn’t play to the level where he needed to. Um this probably wasn’t a good fit from a chemistry standpoint. new coach coming in, new GM. So, it’s probably good for Bradley Bill to find a a new home and hopefully um get hit a serious reset to what I think has been a solid overall NBA career. Yeah, I I just don’t think the Phoenix Suns were ever really constructed to win. I think that when you look at this roster, it was always topheavy. It was Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker. And on paper, you would think that would be enough if this were maybe 10 years ago. But with the way that the NBA has um changed in terms of what the teams are looking like, we’re seeing more and more the teams that are winning are deep teams, teams that just don’t have a big three, for example, or a heavy starting five, but also have a bench. And I think the Phoenix Suns really failed to build a complete roster around those three guys. So yes, health was an issue. Bradley Beal’s health was an issue. It was also an issue at various points of this experiment where all three guys were available. It was it always seems you got par pairings of of this big three but never the big three completely which really didn’t help in terms of building chemistry of a new team. But I just don’t think Phoenix ever did a really good job at building a team that didn’t rely on three guys who were ch still trying to figure out a way to play together. They tried to cheat the system with a very antiquated ideology of basketball and it just did not work. And I think that this is the best situation for all parties involved. Okay, so let’s you know what? One one quick thing and Ashley, you know this, Jacqueline, it got really bad when Mike Benhoer, who they fired after a year, Frank Vogle, who they fired after a year, brick bench Bradley B. And when you got to bench a player that makes $50 million a year, whatever he makes, that’s uh that doesn’t do well for the morale of the team. And it really affected Bradley Bill’s confidence. And let’s talk about his new home and that new fit here with the Clippers because he’s going to be there with James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. We’ve all talked about this so many times how loaded the Western Conference really is because yeah, you have the defending champs in OKC. You got arguably the best player in the world right now in in Joic with the Nuggets and then you have the Timberwolves. So Ashley, how does this put the Clippers in position there? Where do they fit in the Western Conference with this addition with Bradley Beal, Harden, and Kawaii in a really stacked Western Conference? This is absolutely a playoff team, right? But the biggest question mark, and this is for a lot of teams where their big three or their stars are are are of a particular age is health. And when you talk about Kawhi Leonard, we all know what that has been like. And then Bradley Beal, we know what that has been like. So this is not an issue of can this team win because on paper this is a really good basketball team and I was pleasantly surprised because going into last season I was not high on the Los Angeles Clippers and a lot of the reason was because of the question marks surrounding Kawhi Leonard and I just don’t think that this team is what it can be with just James Harden being your first option. But with Kawawaii and how he looked down the stretch and into the postseason and not just him and James, but really just the surrounding pieces, the team looked a lot better than I think a lot of people, including myself, gave them credit for. So, if they can recreate that magic, this is a very good basketball team, a playoff basketball team. I’m willing to go on the record and say it’s just the biggest question mark when you talk about particularly Kawhi Leonard and Bradley Beal who’s now bring being brought into this equation is health. Can they stay healthy enough to be a real threat come March, April, and into the postseason? And can you get the version of James Harden you get throughout the 82 games of the regular season in the postseason? Those are the biggest questions for me going into this new venture of of the Los Angeles Clippers. Well, last year, you know, the Clippers started James Harden and Chris Dunn. And if Chris Dunn is a starter on your team, you’re not really a championship team. Chris Dunn needs to be a 14minute player coming off the bench. But now Bradley Bill gets inserted to the lineup in that back court with Kawi Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. That’s one, two, three uh hits right there. Now you become a team that can make a deeper playoff run. Um you got John Collins who you can start or bring off the bench. Uh you know, you have you know Derek Jones Jr. Uh Mcdanovich. So you have some different pieces. Brook Lopez who’s won a championship, you know, he can come off the bench. So, I really I like this team uh to make a deep playoff run, especially with Bradley Bill getting back to somewhat of his old self. And because you’re only investing a total of about $11 million in him over two years, you don’t have that big cloud over your over him that’s saying, “Hey, he’s the second or first or second highest paid player on the team and he’s not playing up to his contract. He’ll play up to this contract and exceed it.” I believe this will be a better fit for Bradley Bill. He’ll be happier, more confident. He’ll he’s playing for a veteran. uh he was playing for Ty Louu who I think he’ll have a better relationship with that’s a big deal in terms of when you’re acquiring a player like this. The type of relationship that he’s going to have with the head coach and the other star players. Yeah, it felt like for Bradley Beiel to your point, coach, the the five-year $251 million deal that he signed back with the Wizards was just always a talking point of conversation in terms of his playing time. All roads kind of lead back to LeBron James, right? So, the Clippers, they, you know, were a team they were rumored to, you know, be getting LeBron. We know that he has that player option that he signed for, uh, the Lakers, but beyond that, it’s kind of a question mark, right? So, for the Clippers, coach, how does this impact any sort of, you know, like pipe dream or or potential for them to land LeBron after this season potentially? Well, I think they’ll be in play because I I know LeBron loves LA. Um, LeBron is different from Kobe. Kobe, you know, Kobe is a Laker. You know, he Magic Johnson, they are Lakers. When you think of LeBron, you you think of the whole totality of career, you know, playing with Cleveland, two separate stints, getting to the finals with Cleveland the first time, losing to the Spurs, getting going to Miami, winning two chips there, going back to Cleveland, winning the championship, you know, wins a championship with the Lakers, doing the bubble. But at the end of the day, you know, I wouldn’t be surprised if LeBron James is on a different team not named the Lakers uh next year. So, and it could be the Clippers. I I think it’s going to be all about where he thinks he can win a championship. Um what’s going to happen with Bronny? You know, does Bronnie follow him to the Clippers next year in in some way? You know, what’s happening with his son Bryce in college? There are a lot of different factors. Does he want to go back to Cleveland and end his career where it started? Everything’s going to be on the table because I really do believe LeBron James, unless he win a championship this year, which I believe is highly unlikely, I believe this he’s going to play another year after this year. I I don’t even know how to answer this question. I just I just feel like this LeBron Russian roulette is the most insane conversation in basketball right now. But I’ll play the game. Look, we’ve heard Dallas, we’ve heard Cleveland, we’ve heard Miami, we’ve heard retirement, we’ve heard LA. I mean, let’s just add the Clippers to the long list of teams that will be in play for a 41year-old LeBron James. Let’s just put that in there. Like, I don’t understand what we’re doing. I don’t understand why we’re doing it. But I will say this, any team LeBron James is still, yes, of a particular age, but he is still highly productive. The question is is how much longer does he want to do this? Because I will say this, I find it very hard to believe outside of maybe Cleveland that anywhere he goes, and we’ll put Dallas, we’ll put Dallas in that mix as well. Outside of Dallas and Cleveland, who are two teams, if we’re going to be very honest, are on the championship path without LeBron. and they I just find it hard to believe that any team would uproot their entire roster for LeBron James when they’re already championship contenders. And any place he goes outside of those two teams that I just mentioned um are not really on that championship path and I don’t know if LeBron really is going to move that needle for them drastically in two conferences that we see constantly changing. So, could LeBron go to the Clippers in by the trade deadline next season, the season after that? Sure. Woody, I I don’t know. I I find that very hard to believe. Come on, Ash. It’s the off season. We got to have the conversation about LeBron. Magic in there, Jacqueline. Let’s just throw the Magic in there, too. You know, I wouldn’t be mad at it. Whatever. You don’t It’s a wide openen Eastern Conference, and the Magic have the third best odds to win it all. Got to remind you of that. Throw LeBron in there, too. We got to go back to the Clippers. We got to stay on track. I can’t get off about the magic. Um, a 2-year 11 million deal with the Clippers. Um, we want you guys to grade this move for the Clippers. We see it there 11 to1 to win the West. It’s a really crowded Western Conference. The Thunder, the Nuggets, the Rockets, the Lakers in there, the Timberwolves. So, Ash, come to you first. Greatest move for the Clippers. I’m giving this a B+. I mean, this would be on the fringe of an A for me because one, it doesn’t cost the Clippers much. Um, it makes the Clippers better on paper. Again, health is something you always have to consider, especially when you have players of a particular age and with a particular injury history. But on paper, this makes the Clippers a lot better. To coach’s point, it gives them a reliable third option in Bradley Bale. on time second option depending on what Kawhi Leonard’s status is for the night or how they’re going to load manage him throughout the season to make sure he’s ready to go down the stretch into the postseason. I think obviously they now have Zubac at the center or they’ve had Zubac at the center. They brought in John Collins. So again on paper Bradley Beal’s addition to this Los Angeles Clippers team makes them a deep playoff team if all goes according to plan. That’s where the biggest question is. But I would give this a B+. It’s not uh costing this team a lot of money. And if you’re the Phoenix Suns, you’re happy to have that money to now play with. Yeah. If Kawhi Leonard plays in 65 games, James Harden, you know, stays healthy all year. Uh same with John Collins. I really believe that Bradley Bill, Ashley mentioned this earlier in her comments. Bradley Bill needs a healthy team around. He can’t carry a team. So, if those guys are healthy, they have great chemistry, I believe this could potentially be an A minus. Uh because I think you’re going to see a a much more efficient Brandy Bill, a guy who’s really aggressive. Uh he’s a he’s a pretty solid defender, which is also critical, especially with Jeff Van Gundy being the associate head coach and the defensive coordinator. He’s going to love having Brandon Bill to be able to switch and and multiple different defenses and a guy that’s experienced. So, I I think I’ll go with an A minus, but that’s only if the Clippers are healthy. Okay, A minus, B+. Looking pretty good for the Clippers. We saw it there 11 to1 to win the West. Ash, coach, we certainly appreciate it. Joining us for that breaking news here where Brad Beal plans to sign a 2-year 11 million contract with the LA Clippers. For more from Ashley, make sure you check out their show, Triple Threat. They just wrapped up their first season over on CBS Sports Network, but you can watch all those full episodes right now on YouTube by scanning that QR code.

Avery Johnson and Ashley Nicole Moss join CBS Sports HQ to talk about the most recent news around Bradley Beal’s buyout and him planning to sign with the Clippers.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CBSSports

WATCH
CBS Sports HQ: https://www.cbssports.com/live/
Paramount Plus: https://www.paramountplus.com

FOLLOW US ON:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CBSSports/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cbssports/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/CBSSports

#nba #breakingnews #bradleybeal #suns #clippers