Bradley Beal Reveals He Turned Down Trade To East Contender Before Going to Phoenix

Well, this could have drastically changed the fortunes of two teams if it had come to fruition.

Bradley Beal has revealed on a podcast that before giving his blessing for the Washington Wizards to trade him to the Phoenix Suns, he turned down a potential trade to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Bradley Beal said on @TidalLeague the Bucks were willing to trade Khris Middleton to the Wizards, but he didn’t feel comfortable signing off.

Middleton would’ve been re-routed to another contender from Washington.

A massive domino effect that impacted multiple teams’ futures. pic.twitter.com/rHqAuCQTmu
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) October 8, 2024

Beal, whose presence with the Suns—with his no-trade clause and albatross of a contract—has caused all sorts of chaos with the team. But he said that Phoenix "wasn't even in the picture" at first when the Wizards began trade talks in the summer of 2023. He was expecting to go to the Miami Heat or the Bucks.

But he said Milwaukee's plan to trade Khris Middleton to the Wiz in exchange put a wrench in the plan. Beal says the fact that Middleton had a player option for the coming season was an issue.

"I don't know how many people want to opt in when they get traded to D.C.!" he laughed.

And so, Beal waited it out, and got his deal to Phoenix. The Suns have done nothing but struggle with him as the third wheel with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The team is 53-51 with Beal in the lineup over these past two seasons, and as usual, he's missed huge chunks of each campaign due to injuries (he hasn't played more than 53 games in a full season in five years).

The Suns tried desperately to trade him at this year's deadline to land Jimmy Butler from the Heat, but Beal refused to waive his no-trade clause.

So unless something changes in Beal's mindset, Phoenix is stuck with him for another two years, and $110 million in bloated salary.