Ranking 3 best Bradley Beal trade destinations after Suns benching

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The Phoenix Suns are another team that has seen their 2024-25 campaign take turns for the worse with each passing day. Their 8-1 start to the season feels nothing but a distant memory, as they have now fallen all the way down to 12th in the Western Conference with a 15-18 record — a brutal return for a team that mortgaged its future to bring the likes of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal into the roster.

It has gotten so bad for the Suns that they have decided to bring Beal off the bench — perhaps to convince him further to waive his no-trade clause in a potential trade that could bring in an upgrade with whatever assets Phoenix has left at their disposal. It will be difficult to find any willing takers for Beal, however.

Not only has Beal’s production dropped off in his third-banana role with the Suns, his injury history won’t do him or Phoenix any favors. And that’s without taking into account the $110 million or so that he’s owed for the next two seasons. In today’s CBA landscape, acquiring Beal appears to be a non-starter for teams looking to manage their salary cap picture for the next few years.

Whatever the case may be, it looks like Beal isn’t long for the Suns. And in fact, noted Suns insider John Gambadoro has reported that Beal has already listed teams that he would waive his no-trade clause for. But do his preferred destinations make sense as a potential landing spot for one of the biggest albatross contracts in the association?

Here are a few teams that could perhaps make a Beal trade with the Suns work.

3. Denver Nuggets

Strictly in terms of on-court fit, the Nuggets stand out as a legitimately good destination for Bradley Beal. They are the lowest-volume three-point shooting team in the league, and Beal would grease the wheels so much for their offense, giving Nikola Jokic even more space to breathe on the interior. It helps too that Beal has chemistry with Russell Westbrook after their playing days together in the nation’s capital.

However, this isn’t a simulation in which Denver could simply get Beal without taking into account the cap factors that make it nearly impossible to pull off a trade with the Suns in the first place. A third team has to get involved, and the Nuggets will have to trade away Michael Porter Jr. at the minimum to bring Beal in, which they aren’t too enthusiastic about.

2. Miami Heat

The Heat are the lowest-hanging fruit in terms of gauging which teams could benefit from a Bradley Beal trade. The Suns have expressed interest in trading for Jimmy Butler, so perhaps a deal could be made to resolve the tension that’s brewing within both teams.

However, Miami reportedly has no interest in adding long-term money to their books, and Beal, as was established, will be making a ton of money for the next two seasons after this one. A third team will have to be involved, and that introduces another layer of difficulty to what is already a near-impossible task of constructing a Beal trade.

Beal then will have a say on whether or not he’ll approve a trade to the third team that’s involved due to his no-trade clause, which is simply requiring too many hoops for a trade to materialize.

But in terms of on-court fit, there is definitely room for Beal in South Beach. He has a chance to return to his Washington Wizards form with the Heat, as Miami runs a ton of actions that maximizes perimeter players who love moving without the basketball. Him and Tyler Herro may be an iffy defensive fit in the backcourt, but they should get along quite well on the offensive end.

Alas, there are far too many factors beyond on-court matters that need to be taken into account in acquiring Beal, and the Heat simply have not been too keen on bringing him in.

1. Detroit Pistons

Now, this is a dark-horse team that could take on Bradley Beal’s contract. The only question is, will Beal waive his no-trade clause if his destination will be the Motor City?

The Pistons recently lost their starting shooting guard Jaden Ivey to a brutal leg injury, so there is an opening for Detroit to bring somebody of Beal’s caliber in. Beal’s salary shouldn’t be too big of an issue, as they rank 30th in total payroll obligations. It may be a bit of a question for the Pistons if they would want to take on Beal’s contract in the first place, but if they do, then the ball is in Beal’s court.

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