Rumors of Phoenix Suns star Bradley Beal’s contract getting bought out by the Suns have been floating around as of late, and one report seems to indicate that Suns fans should have some hope that the two sides will come to an agreement on a buyout.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Fred Katz, the Suns and Beal are “increasingly optimistic” that they will be able to work out a buyout for the three-time All-Star.
“The Suns and Beal are increasingly optimistic that the two sides will agree to terms on a buyout, league sources tell The Athletic,” Katz wrote. “The move would make Beal an unrestricted free agent.”
Beal seems to have one foot out of Phoenix after he endured a woeful 2024-25 campaign by his standards. The 32-year-old has been one of the elite scorers in the NBA over the last decade and has scored as many as 31.3 points per game at the highest level, but he had one of the worst scoring campaigns of his pro career last season.
His usage rate was uncharacteristically low, as he averaged just 13.1 shot attempts per game, the second-fewest in a single season during his time in the pros. As a result, he averaged only 17.0 points per game and even played some games off the bench for the first time in many seasons.
Beal wasn’t worth his salary last season, and it clearly wouldn’t be worth it for the Suns to cough up over $53 million that is owed to Beal next season to keep him under contract. With forward Kevin Durant now a member of the Houston Rockets, the Suns don’t exactly project to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference next season regardless of whether Beal sticks around or not.
If the Suns and Beal are able to agree on a buyout for Beal in the near future, it’s still likely that he will have his fair share of suitors even with the down season he’s on the heels of.
After all, he can still bring a lot to the table for a team in need of some scoring chops, and maybe some playoff contenders will get involved in the sweepstakes. The Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets could benefit from adding a scorer of Beal’s caliber to complement their star players, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic.
