ESPN Gives Suns Shockingly Bad Grade For Bradley Beal Trade

The Phoenix Suns made a splash Sunday, reportedly acquiring Bradley Beal in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards.

The deal gives Phoenix an impressive big three -- Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker -- and only cost the Suns a package of Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round draft picks and pick swaps.

Slam dunk for the Suns, right?

Well, not so fast. ESPN's Kevin Pelton graded the trade and handed Phoenix a shockingly bad mark.

Pelton gave the Suns a "D" largely because of the risks associated with adding Beal's exorbitant contract.

Beal's salary for the 2023-24 season projects to be the NBA's fifth-highest -- trailing only Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic -- and therefore will make it more difficult for Phoenix to fill out its roster around its star players.

"Worse yet, Beal is early in the five-year contract he signed with Washington less than a year ago," Pelton wrote Sunday on ESPN.com. "His salary increases to $57 million in 2026-27 (a player option), when Beal will be 33. An escalating salary cap will likely grow faster than Beal's contract, but not enough to offset age-related decline. That's why the return the Wizards got in terms of picks and players isn't commensurate with Beal's reputation as a player.

"More so than whether Beal was the right star to pursue to go with Booker and Durant, the question for the Suns is whether adding a star was the right move as opposed to trying to use Paul's contract to beef up their depth with multiple contributors."

Beal is a three-time All-Star. He's a very good player who averaged at least 30 points per game in back-to-back seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21. He could thrive as the third option in Phoenix, with Durant and Booker creating scoring opportunities for Beal -- rather than the other way around.

But is that enough to justify the cost?

The Suns' depth became a problem in their Western Conference semifinals loss to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Acquiring Beal doesn't necessarily address that shortcoming, despite the infusion of his talent, and the potential tax implications of the trade could prove detrimental.

"Moreover, Phoenix again traded multiple contributors for a single player," Pelton wrote. "The quartet of Beal, Booker, Durant and center Deandre Ayton will combine to make $163 million in 2023-24, enough to already put the Suns into the luxury tax without signing even a fifth player to make a full lineup.

"As a result, without an Ayton trade, the Suns assuredly won't have access to their taxpayer midlevel exception because of incoming rules restricting teams that exceed the second luxury tax apron. Phoenix could still re-sign its own free agents, most notably forward Torrey Craig, but any outside additions to the roster will likely be limited to players making the veteran's minimum."

The Suns undoubtedly reshuffled the deck by landing Beal. For the better? That's still to be determined.

Pelton gave the Wizards a "B-" for the trade.