Clippers Make Early Bradley Beal Decision for First Preseason Game

After an offseason knee procedure, new Los Angeles Clippers addition Bradley Beal will be brought along slowly

Sep 29, 2025; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Bradley Beal (0) photographed during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

One of the Los Angeles Clippers' newest acquisitions, Bradley Beal, has been absent from team scrimmages over the past week of training camp due to an offseason procedure he had done in May.

Clippers' President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank announced the procedure during his Media Day press conference, but both he and Beal confirmed that it was a minor issue and that it was essentially a cleanup.

From Monday:

New Clippers guard Bradley Beal on knee procedure he had in Phoenix: “After the year in Phoenix, I had a little scope done in Phoenix. Literally right as the season ended and now, I’m ready to rock. I’m in a great place now. Little minor cleanup at the end of the… pic.twitter.com/LJveYa7ANN

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) September 30, 2025

The Clippers have made it clear that they won't push Beal to participate in exhibition games, but with the preseason starting this week and the regular season a few weeks away, could Beal be making an appearance soon?

Beal Scrimmages for the First Time

After missing several days of full-contact practice due to a lingering knee issue, Bradley Beal finally returned to scrimmage with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, marking a significant step forward in his recovery.

However, the three-time All-Star will sit out Thursday's preseason opener in Oceanside as the team takes a cautious approach, according to our Joey Linn.

Everyone will be playing for the Clippers on Thursday, except Bradley Beal.

They’re bringing him along slowly.

— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) October 6, 2025

According to Linn, the 32-year-old guard expects to be fully healthy for the start of the regular season on October 22, when Los Angeles faces the Utah Jazz.

Bradley Beal scrimmaged with the Clippers today. He feels good expects to be in the lineup on opening night.

— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) October 6, 2025

What Beal Brings to LA

Head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed that Beal will be in the starting lineup alongside Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac, with the fifth starter still to be determined between Derrick Jones Jr. and John Collins.

Asked Tyronn Lue about what he'll be looking for in a starting lineup... when he remembers/gets around to it

*we know four of the starters: Harden, Beal, Leonard, Zubac pic.twitter.com/61Wm3KSwUR

— Law Murray 🎃 (@LawMurrayTheNU) September 30, 2025

"Players of this caliber are very rare, and they're hard to come by," Lue said when Beal joined the team in July. "He's been the best player on his team."

In the 2024-25 season with Phoenix, he averaged 17.0 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds across 53 games while shooting 49.7 percent from the field.

In August, Tyronn Lue spoke about Beal on "Club Shay Shay."

bradley beal getting shots up today after practice 🔥 beal did not participate in 5-on-5 scrimmage today ty lue mentioned. pic.twitter.com/sOZ694t9Jn

— Ash10™ (@ashtenjewell) October 5, 2025

"He's definitely going to be a big help for us offensively. We're gonna need him to score, but outside of scoring, we're [going to] need him to make plays for other guys, too. He's gonna draw two or three guys, and he can make a pass or a play," Lue said.

With a heap of help behind Beal on the roster, such as Bogdan Bogdanovic, Chris Paul, Kris Dunn, and even young guards like Jordan Miller, all eyes will be on the veteran's progress as the Clippers move throughout the preseason.

It was confirmed at training camp on Monday that Beal was the only player who would be out for the Clippers' first preseason game in Oceanside at Frontwave Arena on October 9th.