Bradley Beal, at least for now, has no interest in being traded away from the Phoenix Suns.
Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPN on Wednesday that Beal has not waived his no-trade clause with the Suns, and there have not been any discussions with the team about doing so. Beal has been linked to trade rumors in recent days, especially after he was moved to the bench on Monday amid the team’s slump.
While Bartelstein didn’t rule out the possibility of Beal waiving his no-trade clause if the “perfect” situation came up, that is currently not something that is being worked on.
“There have been no discussions about trades with the Suns or any other team,” Bartelstein said. “Bradley’s total focus is on helping the Suns turn things around.”
The Suns opted to move both Beal and Jusuf Nurkić out of the starting lineup after they had lost seven of their last eight games. Beal came off the bench and dropped a team-high 25 points in their win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, which marked his first time in a reserve role in nine years. He then had 10 points in Tuesday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Beal has averaged 17.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season, his second with the Suns. He is in the third year of a five-year, $251 million deal he first signed with the Washington Wizards ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
Beal said after Monday’s game that him being moved to the bench had nothing to do with any trade rumors with which he’s been linked. The biggest one includes the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler, who has made it clear he wants out of the organization.
“If so, I need to be addressed because I hold the cards,” he said when asked if his benching was linked to rumors, via ESPN. “Until I’m addressed and somebody says something different, then I’ll be a Sun.”
