NBA Rumors: 4 Teams on Bradley Beal's Preference List Once Buyout Is Done
And once that's done, Beal is considering joining one of four teams, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Teams Bradley Beal could consider joining if he is bought out by the Suns include the Clippers, Warriors, Lakers and Bucks, a source tells @FredKatz.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 7, 2025
The Suns and Beal are increasingly optimistic that the two sides will agree to terms on a buyout, league sources say.
The goal… pic.twitter.com/1e0bdAS3ib
According to a league source, the list of teams Beal has thought about includes the LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.
The only one of those four teams that could afford to pay Beal more than about $5 million on a contract would be the Warriors — and that's only if they find a way to send out restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga in a trade that doesn’t bring back any money. That would then allow them to use the $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception on Beal.
Once the Suns are able to waive and stretch Beal's contract, it'll be for a five-year period at an amount that would not only get Phoenix out of the second apron, but also out of the luxury tax altogether, per The Athletic.
But there's still a big sticking point here, in that Beal must "give back" at least $13.8 million in order for the Suns to be allowed to stretch him. We'll see how amenable he is to that.
The 32-year-old former three-time All-Star averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists with Phoenix this past season, but the team had a dreadful year and missed the playoffs. His two seasons in desert were extremely dry, as the Suns were swept out of the first round of the playoffs in 2024, and didn't even get there at all in 2025. The analytics showed that the Suns were a much better team with Beal OFF the court than on it.
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