In a chat with the media following the Suns‘ 123-115 win over the Hawks this week, NBA superstar Kevin Durant finally broke his silence on the new role for Bradley Beal. According to Durant, however, coming off the bench is not a demotion for Beal and it’s giving him more opportunities to shine.
“I think coming into the game now we’re giving him more opportunities with the ball in his hands. Is it really a change?” Durant said on Beal, per Duane Rankin. “You’re still playing a lot of minutes, getting his shots up. Last three games, I just feel like he’s more comfortable and understands where his shots are going to come from. Sometimes that’s his struggle, not understanding exactly what his role is. Sometimes we get lost in the shuffle a little bit but we’re a good team and so I feel like he’s playing the same type of game but more aggressively.”
Kevin Durant has been a reliable leader for the Suns since he arrived in 2023. While he’s yet to take them to the depths of the playoffs, Durant’s impact is undeniable with averages of 27.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game on 52.5% shooting.
Over the past few years, Suns owner Mat Ishbia has done everything in his power to accumulate talent, including trading for both Durant and Bradley Beal to pair with Devin Booker. Recently, the Suns have been tied to veteran star Jimmy Butler, who is on the way out of Miami.
Somehow, Beal has been mixed up in trade rumors yet again, and even despite his no-trade clause, there are rumors that the Suns are trying to push him out of town to make way for Butler.
So when the Suns started bringing Beal off the bench, many saw it as a sign that they were moving off of him in favor of someone else. At the very least, many critics suspected that Beal’s new role might cause some problems in the locker room.
So far, however, the former Wizards star has thrived leading the second unit. In the win against the Hawks, he dropped a game-high 25 points off the bench in 33 minutes, including two three-pointers.
So while some see Beal’s bench assignment as a sign of disrespect, Kevin Durant thinks it’s the best way to bring out the best in his skills as a shooter and isolation scorer in the backcourt.
This season, at 17-19, the Suns are 12th in the West but they are just half a game back from the final play-in spot. After spending so much to build this roster, it’s not where the Suns want to be but there is hope that Beal, Booker, and Durant might find their rhythm and develop some real chemistry together.
With a Butler trade considered unlikely, the Suns will have to accept their current roster and make do with who they have. Fortunately, their current big three should be enough for them to stay competitive, and recent signs indicate that some deals may be on the way to further upgrade the roster.
The NBA schedule continues for the Suns tomorrow, January 11th, against the Utah Jazz at Footprint Center. After that, they host the Charlotte Hornets at 9:00 PM EST before heading to State Farm Arena on January 14th for a game against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks.
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