Clippers May Already Be Regretting Bradley Beal Signing After Latest Injury Update

One of the more confusing decisions the Los Angeles Clippers made this offseason was signing Bradley Beal to a two-year, $13 million deal. Even though the veteran shooting guard missed all of last season except for six games, he turned down his player option and got the Clippers to give him a pay raise and an extra year.

This questionable decision already looks worse even before the start of the season.

On Wednesday, the Clippers announced that Beal, along with Brandon Ingram, Kobe Sanders, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser, were doing individual player development work, per team insider Justin Russo. Beal is reportedly still managing inflammation that popped up during his ramp-up process.

Lack of Progress in Beal's Injury Recovery Should Be Concerning

This issue was first revealed on the first day of training camp. Beal wasn't practicing with the team due to inflammation in his right knee. This reportedly developed while he was recovering from his hip surgery last season.

Two weeks since the start of training camp and there doesn't seem to be much progress for Beal.

Given Beal's injury history, this raises alarm bells. The 33-year-old shooting guard has been dealing with nagging injuries over the last five seasons. He hasn't played more than 53 games in a season since the 2020-21 campaign.

The cumulative effect of these injuries is undeniable. Recovery becomes harder as you get into your 30s. Coming back from surgery to repair a hip fracture is not easy for any player, let alone a 33-year-old who has a lot of mileage and a long injury history.

The "inflammation" designation is particularly concerning. This is a common designation for players with chronic injuries. As the workload increases, the body breaks down. Clippers fans are particularly familiar with this from the Kawhi Leonard experience.

At this point, it's hard to expect Beal to stay healthy for an extended period of time. Beal addressed these concerns last week when he said that he chose the Clippers so that he could try to get healthy and be available without having the pressure of winning. He said that he chose the Clippers over a title contender, saying, "If I went anywhere else, I'd be starting all over again, kind of putting a lot of unnecessary stress and pressure on myself to perform and do things."

That sounds like a man who doesn't fully trust himself to stay healthy and be a contributor this season.

This is why the Clippers' decision to give Beal anything more than a veteran minimum deal made little sense. It's not like LA needed more shooting guard depth or scoring. The Clippers are stacked at the SG position, with Kris Dunn, Max Strus, Keaton Wagler, and Kobe Sanders all vying for minutes there.

Bringing Beal back was likely a big reason for Bennedict Mathurin's departure. Especially since Mathurin essentially has the same contract as Beal, letting him go so that the Clippers can sign an injury-prone 33-year-old who will seemingly spend most of the season rehabbing will always be a head-scratcher.

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