The Phoenix Suns dropped the undermanned Los Angeles Clippers to 3-5 in 2025-26 with a 115-102 win at Mortgage Matchup Center on Thursday. The clash was the first time that Bradley Beal played the Suns in Phoenix since his departure in the summer, and he threw some shade at his former head coaches when speaking to The Athletic after the game.
“When you allow me to be that guy, I’ll be that,” Beal said. “But when you have two coaches that want you to set screens and play in the dunker, you’re not Brad Beal. You’re somebody else.”
Beal joined the Suns via a trade from the Washington Wizards in 2023 and played under two head coaches in his two seasons in Phoenix. Frank Vogel was the head honcho in his first season and Mike Budenzholer in the second.
Beal clearly wasn’t a fan of how Vogel and Budenholzer used him on offense in those two years. The three-time All-Star had averaged 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game as a Sun, and he asked quite an interesting question to The Athletic here.
“When’s the last time I shot 14 shots for the Suns?” Beal asked.
Well, Beal should have gone with a higher number because we don’t have to go too far back. The 32-year-old attempted 17 shots in his second-to-last game with the Suns.
Beal averaged 13.9 field goal attempts per game in his first season with the Suns and 13.1 per game in the second. He wasn’t the focal point of the offense by any means, but he was getting more shots than he now seems to think.
Beal was also never going to get a much bigger role in the offense in Phoenix. He was very much the third option after Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on the Suns, and he’d have known that. Beal was going to have to do some of the “dirty work,” but it appears he feels he was asked to do too much of that.
After Beal signed with the Clippers, his agent Mark Bartelstein stated, “You have to let him be Brad Beal.” Bartelstein made it clear you won’t get the best version of the guard if you don’t.
Well, Beal is still very much down the pecking order with the Clippers, too. We haven’t quite seen him at anywhere near his best so far for his new team, as he has been dealing with back soreness.
The game against the Suns might have been Beal’s worst of the 2025-26 season. With James Harden and Kawhi Leonard out, the Clippers would have liked to see a vintage display, but he only put up five points (2-14 FG), one rebound, and one assist in 20 minutes.
Beal was booed by Suns fans on the night, and they’d have loved seeing him struggle. He wasn’t too bothered by the boos, though, stating that you can’t please everybody.
Beal was looking forward to Saturday, when the Clippers take on the Suns at the Intuit Dome at 10:30 PM ET. The Clippers won 129-102 when the teams faced off there earlier this season, and he’d be hoping for a repeat. Leonard won’t be playing in this third game between the teams this season, but at least Harden is back.
