Ever since the Suns failed to make the Playoffs in the 2024-25 season, it was imminent news that Bradley Beal was counting his days in Phoenix. Several reports claimed that Beal may have played his last game as a Suns player at the end of the last regular season. Now, sources say that the Suns are discussing a potential buyout from his contract so that he can become a free agent and join another team in the NBA.
Basketball fans did not take kindly to this news as they seemed to be frustrated with the former All-Star to the point that they even categorized his trade as the “worst” in NBA history. They took to social media and let their feelings be known on the three-time All-Star’s potential buyout.
“Just make him sit at home. No need to buy him out,” said a Suns fan who wanted Beal to suffer through the same frustration as the Suns organization seemingly did with him.
“This is such a bad idea, just have patience,” said an NBA fan who felt that the Suns should allow him to contribute as much as he can, instead of taking the same hit to their finances, and yet not have him on the team.
“Trading for Beal was one of the worst trades in history,” said an NBA fan out of sheer frustration from seeing this saga go on for so long.
“This dude gamed the system. Should’ve never had a no-trade clause. Then he blocked a potential trade for Butler to Phoenix-now he’s getting paid just to leave,” said an NBA fan who seemed frustrated that Beal did not let the Suns trade him for Jimmy Butler before the trade deadline last season.
“Don’t buyout. Ice him on the bench for two years. It’s the same amount of trash money,” said a Suns fan.
“Please no, rather Brad stay home than have to space out a contract over 5 years during Book’s prime,” said a frustrated Suns fan who is against the buyout simply because they don’t want Bradley Beal’s contract to affect them in the long run as it hampers their financial capabilities from capitalizing on Devin Booker’s prime years.
Booker will be 29 years old in the first month of the new season and is the cornerstone of this team. But he arguably has only 3 to 4 years left of his prime days before his output also starts declining. Therefore, if the Suns extend Beal’s contract over 5-7 seasons, they may not be able to make superstar additions to the team for a while.
If the Suns and Beal do agree on a buyout, teams like the Warriors, Clippers, and Lakers are expected to show interest in signing him as a free agent. In the 2024-25 season, Beal averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting 49.7% from the floor and 38.6% from beyond the arc.
That is a sharp fall in his production output from the time he was in Washington, while still receiving the ninth-highest salary in the league for the 2025-26 season. Hence, the common sentiment across the NBA world seems to be that he is no longer justifying the supermax money he is receiving. It will be interesting to see where he lands if the Suns agree on terms for a buyout.
