

As long as Bradley Beal secures a contract buyout with the Phoenix Suns, the LA Clippers are likely the leaders to sign the guard, league sources tell The Athletic.
Contending Western Conference teams have expressed interest in the 32-year-old, who averaged 17.3 points per game last season in Phoenix but came to represent the Suns’ inflexibility as they failed to build a contender around him, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
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If he goes to the Clippers, Beal would be part of a potential lineup with James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, John Collins and Ivica Zubac. The team paved the way for that possibility by trading Norman Powell to Miami in a three-team swap that brought Collins in from the Jazz.
The Clippers can offer Beal up to $5.3 million in salary for the 2025-26 season. They have cap space left over from the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which they used most of to sign Brook Lopez. The team finalized his contract on Sunday.
After dealing Powell, Clippers’ president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank alluded to more moves on the horizon.
“The work’s not done. We still have a lot of work to do, but I think we’re moving in the right direction to give this group a chance to be better than we were last year,” Frank said. “There’s obviously no guarantees. The West is unforgiving. Yet at the same time, we have to run our own race and we’re doing the best we can.”
Beal has also considered the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks, league sources said.
As of Tuesday, Beal and the Suns were still discussing the possibility of a contract buyout. Both sides remain optimistic it will get done, league sources tell The Athletic. He has two years and $110.8 million remaining on his deal. If the Suns waive Beal, they could stretch his salary over five seasons, leaving approximately $19.4 million in dead money on their books through 2029-30. Because of a quirk in the collective bargaining agreement, Beal must give back at least $13.8 million in a buyout for the Suns to stretch his salary.
Beal understands that because the money has dried up on the free-agent market, he is unlikely to make back the $13.8 million he would be giving up right away. His ideal move could be to sign a two-year contract with a player option on the second season, allowing him to re-enter the market in 2026 to sign for a larger number.
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The Clippers waived third-year forward Jordan Miller on Tuesday, a league source said, a move that will give them a bit more room below the first apron, a payroll threshold slightly above the luxury tax. Had they not waived Miller, giving Beal a $5.3 million salary would have made it more complicated to fill out the roster with two veterans on minimum contracts.
Beal signed a five-year, $251 million contract with the Washington Wizards in 2022 that contained a no-trade clause, a rarity in the league where front offices don’t typically yield that level of control.
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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