The Phoenix Suns have now had Bradley Beal on this roster for over half of their season, and it is clear trading for him was the right decision to make.
The Phoenix Suns have now played well over half of their regular season games, and their 34-24 record is a fair representation of where they are as a team. On some nights they look fantastic offensively, and are able to blow essentially any opponent off the court.
Then on other occasions when guys like Grayson Allen and the newly acquired Royce O’Neale aren’t firing on all cycliners, the trio of superstars at their disposal don’t have the help needed to get over the line against the better teams in the league. Defensively it has largely gone better than expected though, with head coach Frank Vogel getting the most out of a center like Jusuf Nurkic.
Then there is Bradley Beal, who at this point in the season has emerged as undoubtedly the Suns’ x-factor the rest of the way.
This is both a good and bad thing, as Beal has been limited to only 30 games played so far this season. Even more worrying, there have been three separate issues that have kept him off the court. The back troubles that hindered him to start the campaign being the worst, followed by a bad ankle sprain and the hamstring issue that he should return from soon.
Yet despite all of this – the Suns were still right to go and get Beal last summer – and there are several reasons as to why this is. The 30 game sample size is still relatively small, but with himself, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant on this roster, they have the potential to go all of the way and win a championship.
- He was the best available option
Last summer seems like a long time ago now, but at that point in time the Suns had Chris Paul as their starting point guard. As much as the franchise should be thankful for all that he did in helping get them back to contention – he really was that important – the time was right to move on from him.
As a result of his massive contract, and the fact Beal has a no-trade clause and can decide where he gets traded to, the perfect storm created itself and the Suns were able to go out and get a 30-year-old multiple time All-Star in exchange for Paul. He was quickly waived by the Washington Wizards, and now plays for the Golden State Warriors.
He is currently out with wrist surgery – an unfortunately regular occurrence for the player at this stage of his career – which makes Beal’s injury issues a wash when comparing the two. Forgotten in all of this is the fact the Suns also got Jordan Goodwin in the deal who, alongside some other players and picks, the franchise turned into O’Neale and Roddy at the deadline.
If not for Beal joining the team, we also would never have gotten point guard Booker on a full-time basis. Which has been a revelation for the Suns, as he is averaging the most assists of his career at seven per game, all while scoring 27.5 points per night. The fit just works in the backcourt, and that is as much to do with Beal as it is Booker.
- He completes the team offensively
There is no doubt that Beal was signed to complete the Suns’ puzzle offensively, and he has done exactly that when available. The team have a 19-11 record when he’s been on the court, while the 36.3 percent he has shot from deep has been serviceable as well. Putting up 18.2 points (his lowest tally since 2015-16) sounds like a negative, but it actually isn’t
This shows that Beal has willingly accepted the role of third choice offensively behind Durant and Booker, and the 4.5 assists he has managed are slightly above his career average too. Perhaps best of all – if you look at some of the Suns’ three-man groups and their offensive ratings – it is clear Beal is having a huge influence.
The combination of Beal/Durant/Nurkic has an offensive rating of 125.4 in 446 minutes played. Interestingly, Beal/Durant/Booker have the exact same rating in only six fewer minutes together so far which tells us two things. The first is that Nurkic continues to be underrated and is an integral part of the starting five, and the second is that Beal can excel playing next to all manner of players.
It is that versatility – he can easily slide into the first scoring option or lead facilitator – that proves the Suns were right to go out and get him when they did. Once he can get a clean bill of health and a run of games, the team are going to be the better for it. The thought process was always that Beal could turn the Suns into a truly elite offensive group. The numbers now prove that to be the case.
- He’s a top three third option in the league
The NBA has shifted from having “Big 3s” in recent years, with the best teams instead opting to go for two superstars and a deeper supporting cast. The Suns aren’t quite there yet, although in Nurkic, Allen, O’Neale and Eric Gordon, they are trying to tow the line and have three stars and a deep group around them.
Not so long ago we could have said Beal was the best third option in the whole league. Would you rather have Austin Reaves? Khris Middleton? Derrick White or Kristaps Porzingis? Perhaps the latter two, although you get the sense they work better with the Boston Celtics than they would anywhere else in the league.
Beal is only 30-years-old and is still a star, but unfortunately he is not better than James Harden right now. He was earlier in the season – but his move to the L.A. Clippers to be their third option – has gone so well that we have to concede he now holds this title. Harden’s postseason flameouts have been well documented, whereas Beal doesn’t have a ton of exposure to the biggest stage at 45 games.
But the fact Beal is on this Suns team for a potential playoff series against the Clippers is enough right now. He is the ideal player to duel with Harden and who can exceed the offensive output we have seen from him so far. He is overqualified for this role with the Suns, and the fact they have him at all given their cap situation, is a huge win for them.