2023-24 stats: 18.2 ppg, 5.0 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 spg, 51.3% FG%, 43.0% 3P% in 53 games
2024-25 earnings: $50,203,930 (projected 5th overall in salary)

The Suns took a huge swing when they traded for former All-Star Bradley Beal and his enormous contract, which runs through 2026-27, fully guaranteed and with an almost inexplicable no-trade clause on it. And they did so while having one of the best shooting guards in the league already on their roster.

The results were less than glowing, as Phoenix struggled all season in part due to not having a traditional point guard on its roster before getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs, a sweep at the hands of the Timberwolves.

Phoenix did well to address its lead-guard needs this summer, adding Tyus Jones and Monte Morris to the roster, a coup considering how badly the Suns needed point-guard help while only having minimum salaries to offer.

Might we be looking at a future with Beal as the Suns’ Sixth Man?

Maybe not right away, but it just seems like a possibility now that Phoenix has a serviceable low-level starter in Jones, which could allow Beal to come in as a reserve and dominate second-unit defenders.

That might not happen right away in 2024-25 or at all, but if we don’t see an improvement in the ball-handling, chemistry and defense from the Suns’ projected starting 1-3 – Beal, Booker and Grayson Allen – it might be something Phoenix’s new head coach Mike Budenholzer considers.

For the latest Bradley Beal news, rumors and salary info, click here.