In a segment on the Draymond Green show, veteran NBA point guard Baron Davis gave his candid take on the situation in Phoenix regarding All-Star guard Bradley Beal. After being moved to the bench this season, Beal’s role has seen a major reduction and Davis says that it’s a massive mistake for the Suns.
“Whoever is the Phoenix coach, get your sh*t together bro, this dude makes too much money to be coming off the bench,” said Davis. “Like, who’s starting in front of him? I would like to understand the rationale.”
Beal, 31, joined the Suns in the summer of 2023 after 11 years with the Wizards. The sharpshooting guard rose to prominence alongside John Wall and together they made the Wizards a consistent playoff threat in the East. When John Wall eventually phased out, it was Beal who took up the mantle as the team’s leading star and he held that position for years until his trade to Phoenix.
To pursue a championship with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, Beal waived his no-trade clause and became the final member of the Suns’ big three. And while the results have been mixed so far, he’s holding up his end of the bargain with averages of 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game with the Suns. He’s set to make over $160 million through the 2026-27 campaign.
So when the team suddenly benched him earlier in the season, it raised a lot of eyebrows around the league in anticipation of a trade. With Jimmy Butler actively on the trade market, some reports claim that the Suns deliberately took his starting role as extra motivation for him to approve a deal.
In truth, we might never know why Bradley Beal was demoted to the bench but it’s a bad look for the organization as a whole. Beal has been one of the Suns’ most reliable scorers this season and he deserves better than to ride in the back as Durant and Booker lead the way.
The man starting in Beal’s place is Suns rookie Ryan Dunn, who is averaging 7.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game this season. Dunn has been playing great in his rookie campaign, but many see it as disrespectful that the Suns would name him as the starter over Bradley Beal.
If you ask Kevin Durant, he’ll deny that coming off the bench changes much of anything at all. Since Beal’s minutes have stayed the same, you could make the case that his involvement is the same and that his role hasn’t decreased in any major way.
But at 20-20 right now, the Suns’ continued struggles are only going to draw more attention and the pressure will keep building for them to make a play and turn this season around. With Beal likely to stay for the long term, it’s imperative that the Suns figure out how to best utilize his skillset so that they can maximize their championship odds.
According to Baron Davis, the bench is not the place for Bradley Beal and his offensive skills should be given the chance to shine on the main stage with Durant, Booker, and the rest of the starters. We will see soon enough what the team decides to do but it falls on head coach Mike Budenholzer to define Beal’s role and give him a clear sense of direction when he’s on the floor.
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