Bradley Beal Likely To Be Third Option For Clippers

Los Angeles Clippers guard Bradley Beal was a third option on the Phoenix Suns last season and will likely be a third option for the Clippers playing alongside Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.

Ty Lue Says Bradley Beal Was Overshadowed With Suns

Appearing on Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast, Clippers head coach Ty Lue argued that Beal was overshadowed on a stacked Suns roster, featuring Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

“When you play for a team like Phoenix like he did the last couple of years, you got Booker and KD and you’re the third option,” Lue said. “People like, ‘oh he didn’t.’ He averaged 18 points, shot 50% from the field and 43% from 3.”

Because the Clippers traded Norman Powell to the Miami Heat, Beal will reportedly take over the starting spot at shooting guard in Los Angeles. He came off the bench in 15 games with Phoenix last season.

The former first-rounder hasn’t played at least 60 games since the 2020-21 season, which was a 72-game season during the COVID-19 pandemic. That campaign, he averaged a career-high 31.3 points, made his third All-Star appearance, and received All-NBA Third Team honors.

Clippers Need Beal To Make Plays For Other Stars

Beal averaged 17.6 points, shooting 50.5% from the field and 40.7% from 3-point range in his two seasons with the Suns, who traded Chris Paul to acquire him from the Washington Wizards in 2023.

“Those are unbelievable stats,” Lue continued. “But when you’re playing with KD and Book, it kind of gets overshadowed. I think by coming here, I think it’s a fresh start and I think he’s going to be great for us.”

However, the three-time All-Star missed a combined 58 games with Phoenix during that span. This means he played in just 106 out of a possible 164 games in a Suns uniform.

The Clippers are counting on Beal to stay healthy and assist his fellow NBA veterans.

“He’s definitely going to be big help for us offensively,” Lue said. “We’re going to need him to score, but outside of scoring, we’re going to need him to make plays for other guys.”

Beal, 32, has averaged 4.3 assists across 801 career NBA regular-season games (752 games) over the past 13 seasons. He dished out a career-high 6.6 dimes per contest while with Washington in the 2021-22 campaign.

“He’s gonna draw two or three guys and he can make a pass, he can make a play,” Lue said. “And then defensively, he’s always been good. But you gotta challenge him every night. If he’s on bad players, he’s not as good. But when he’s guarding a guy that can play, he’s a really good defender. We need his total all around package.”

Bradley Beal Signed Two-Year, $11 Million Deal With Clippers

Earlier this offseason, Beal inked a two-year, $11 million contract with the Clippers. The signing occurred after Phoenix bought out his previous contract by utilizing the waive-and-stretch provision.

According to Spotrac, Beal still had two years and $110 million remaining on the five-year, $251 million contract that he signed with Washington in 2022.

Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, explained in a July interview that his client could potentially sign a long-term contract with the Clippers after the 2025-26 season.

“Brad did not want to go anywhere where he would be a one-year rental or he would go somewhere where they’re getting a massive talent grab for a year, try to help them win a championship and then move on to somewhere else,” Bartelstein told Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports.

“Brad doesn’t like change. It’s one of the reasons why he stayed in Washington so long. So the goal of this is to go to LA, have an awesome season, and then re-sign a long-term deal with the Clippers [next] summer.”

If a multi-year contract is not reached, Beal could become one of the top available players in free agency next summer.