:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72381497/1454903901.0.jpg)
The Washington Wizards are finalizing a deal to send three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and pick swaps.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the blockbuster news.
Suns are expected to send Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and pick swaps to Wizards, sources tell ESPN. Phoenix has no available first-rounders to include in trade. Beal’s no-trade limited Wizards’ marketplace. Deal could take a few days to be finalized.
The move is set to form a new Big Three in Phoenix, pairing Beal with 12-time All-Star Kevin Durant and three-time All-Star Devin Booker. With those three players, along with starting center Deandre Ayton, all signed to maximum contracts, the Suns will have $163 million in salary committed to those four players alone for next season. According to the Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, those are the only four players the Suns have under guaranteed contracts for next season.
Beal is lifting his no-trade clause to allow the move to the Suns. Wojnarowski said the no-trade clause made it challenging for Washington to find equal value for Beal on the trade market.
Beal’s standing as the NBA’s only current player to have a no-trade clause negotiated into his deal gave him the ability to control not only possible destinations, but how a potential package to acquire him impacted his new supporting cast.
Phoenix couldn’t include any first-round picks in its package because of the Brooklyn Nets’ control of them from the Kevin Durant deal.
Beal, 29, spent 11 seasons with the Wizards after the franchise drafted him No. 3 overall in 2012. He just completed the first year of a five-year, $251 million contract that he signed last off-season.
This past season, Beal averaged 23.2 points and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 36.5% on 3-pointers. He only played in 50 games due to injury.
According to TNT’s Chris Haynes, the Wizards are expected to include a third team in the deal to take Paul, with the Los Angeles Clippers emerging as the likely destination.
The Washington Wizards are likely to reroute Chris Paul in a trade and the Los Angeles Clippers are expected to pursue a reunion with the future Hall of Famer, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 18, 2023
UPDATE: Wizards guard Jordan Goodwin will likely be included in the trade to Phoenix, according to The Athletic’s Josh Robbins.
Guard Jordan Goodwin has been told he’s likely being included in the Wizards-Suns trade, a league source told @TheAthleticNBA. Goodwin, 24, appeared in 62 games for Washington last season & would give PHX a player with a strong feel for the game who is on an inexpensive contract.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) June 18, 2023
Loading comments...