Inside The Suns

Suns Made One of NBA's Worst Offseason Moves

The Phoenix Suns could have avoided this disaster.
Apr 8, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) reacts during the first half against the Golden State Warriors at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Apr 8, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) reacts during the first half against the Golden State Warriors at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns move into the 2025-26 season with a completely different roster than the last time we saw them.

Notably, the Suns will be without stars in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal this coming year after the organization moved on from both - Durant was dealt to the Houston Rockets while the Suns waived Beal, who ended up signing with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The decision to move on from Beal could prove to be costly - literally and figuratively - according to Bleacher Report:

Suns Made Massive Mistake With Bradley Beal

Former Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Bea
Apr 9, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) reacts against the Oklahoma City Thunderduring the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

B/R's Dan Favale says the Suns' decision to buy and stretch Beal will be one of the worst offseason decisions:

"Putting the Phoenix Suns on this list for buying out and then waiving-and-stretching Bradley Beal while not including the Milwaukee Bucks for waiving-and-stretching Damian Lillard can seem hypocritical," he wrote.

"Both teams now have a boatload of dead money on their books—$19.4 million for the Suns, $22.5 million for the Bucks—over the next half-decade.

"But Milwaukee is taking the hit on Lillard's deal to add Myles Turner and buy itself at least one more year with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Phoenix is paying Beal to play for the Los Angeles Clippers to...lower its tax bill.

"Getting out of the second apron is a big deal for the Suns—and not just because it saves team governor Mat Ishbia some serious scratch. It helps ensure their 2032 pick is eventually unfrozen and won't be moved to the end of the first round. But if you view setting $19.4 million on fire for five consecutive years as the only way to elude the second apron, something's off.

"It's one thing if Phoenix did this to pave the way for another big move. It didn't. Devin Booker's extension doesn't count. The Suns added a whopping one guaranteed year of team control to the equation, and given they're still on the fast track nowhere post-Beal, he was clearly going to sign it no matter what."

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Bea
Apr 8, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) reacts during the first half against the Golden State Warriors at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Beal's time in Phoenix was clearly coming to an end, and though he'll still have salary cap ramifications down the line, it simply made sense for the Suns to move on from Beal.

The Beal experiment was a massive failure in the desert for numerous reasons. Will things get better for either the Suns or Beal in their different endevaors in the future?

Time ultimately will tell, though it was tough to justify Beal's presence on the roster moving into the new season.


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Donnie Druin
DONNIE DRUIN

Donnie Druin is the Publisher for Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns On SI. Donnie moved to Arizona in 2012 and has been with the company since 2018. In college he won "Best Sports Column" in the state of Arizona for his section and has previously provided coverage for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona State Sun Devils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin for more news, updates, analysis and more!