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A viral social media post provided more than just a fun fact. Earlier this month, longtime NBA journalist Zach Lowe released an obscure observation on X, formerly Twitter, about the Phoenix Suns: Bradley Beal tied his shoelaces midgame an unusual amount. The thought gained traction online, enough for basketball analytics expert Todd Whitehead to run the numbers and estimate how often Beal reaches to his sneaker tops this season. The calculus? He’d spent 15 more seconds tying his shoes than anyone else in the league.
But while no typical person would track the exact yearlong count, this concept wasn’t news to the Suns. Phoenix staffers had noticed the trend already, that in the middle of a possession, Beal would bend down to retie his shoes as the other nine players continued. They didn’t know why. They just realized it was happening. And some detected that, in moments, it had burned the squad.
A couple of weeks ago, the Suns lost a possession because of Beal’s loose laces.
Point guard Monté Morris had picked up his dribble 40 feet from the hoop and turned to Beal, who was on the left wing and should have been ready for a pass. But Beal wasn’t aware of the situation, instead folded in half while tying his shoes with his teammate in need of an outlet. As Morris swiveled to Beal, the eyes of head coach Mike Budenholzer, who patrolled the sideline only a few feet behind, panned to Beal, as well. Budenholzer noticed the lapse, uncrossed his arms, shrugged and paced toward halfcourt, glaring back at the three-time All-Star.
Morris pivoted in the opposite direction, draining five more seconds off the clock, and swung the basketball to sharpshooter Grayson Allen, who pitched it back to him without enough time to make a play. The possession ended in a shot-clock violation.
The Suns moved Beal to the bench the next game. And no, they didn’t do it because only bridezillas are more focused on tying the knot. But the demotion was not a political move, either.
Phoenix is at an impasse, sitting at .500 and teetering at the bottom of the postseason picture. The Suns own the largest payroll in the league and don’t have control of their own first- or second-round pick until 2031. Because of a collective bargaining agreement that’s intentionally restrictive on the NBA’s most expensive teams, they’re limited in what types of trades or free-agent signings they can make.
In the ensuing weeks, many have speculated about why Phoenix pulled Beal, who remains an efficient, high-volume scorer, from the first unit. The front office has expressed strong interest in disgruntled Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, according to multiple reports, and because of Beal’s salary and the Suns’ limited financial flexibility, they would need to include Beal in a trade for him (assuming the team’s two top performers, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, are both off the table). But Beal has a no-trade clause, the same one that directed him to the Suns two summers ago. Phoenix requires his approval to deal him.
Could bringing Beal off the bench make him yearn for a new home? Maybe. But because of their cap situation, the Suns’ best chance to improve comes internally. And make no mistake about it: The decision to yank Beal from the first unit started with basketball, with on-court habits the team was hoping he could break but hasn’t yet.
The Suns needed a change, and removing a member of their big three from the first unit was only part of it.
The day after that shot-clock violation, which was part of an early-January drubbing at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, Budenholzer informed the team of significant changes. Addressing the group during an off-day practice, he announced that two staples of the first unit would become reserves: burly center Jusuf Nurkić and Beal, whom the Suns acquired in 2023 with the hopes that he, Durant, and Booker could carry the organization to contender status.
Sitting at a disappointing 15-18, Phoenix needed a shakeup. The Nurkić issue had lingered for much of the season, with his minutes dwindling further over the previous few weeks as the Suns searched for any type of rim protection and better finishing around the basket.
The Suns hope Nick Richards, who they acquired last week along with a second-round pick for Josh Okogie and three second-rounders, can change the prognosis. Richards is a 7-foot paint plugger who automatically gives them size in the middle and an athlete to soar for missed shots. He went for 21 points and 11 rebounds in his Phoenix debut Saturday and entered the first unit for Monday’s loss to the Cavs, when he scored four points and grabbed four boards.
But the Suns – who traded large chunks of their future for Durant, Beal, Nurkić, and others – also recognize they are more than one career backup away from contention. With a couple of weeks until the trade deadline, they haven’t yet disconnected their phones.
The Suns are making calls about the two veterans they just moved to the bench, though they have yet to ask Beal for his thoughts about any potential trade, team sources said. Beal’s sign-off is necessary, considering he can veto any deal that includes him.
He would consider waiving his no-trade clause for the right destination, according to a source familiar with his thinking. But as of now, management hasn’t gauged whether he wants out – and if so, to where? It’s not Beal’s style to approach a front office on his own. He went 11 years in Washington without asking for a trade. Once the Wizards finally moved him, it was because new leadership initiated the idea, not the other way around. He has told people close to him that if the Suns never ask him to waive the no-trade clause to facilitate a deal, then he won’t propose it on his own.
He may have different desires in 2025 than he did in 2023, when the Wizards traded him to Phoenix. Along with the Suns, his list at the time included the Heat, his one-time first choice, with consideration for the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. He’d always thought about Los Angeles, where he lived in the offseason until selling his home and moving to Phoenix full-time this past summer, but neither SoCal team was in a place to make the trade.
Eventually, he landed not far away in Arizona.
Now, cold-weather destinations could have a better chance of getting in on the mix. No one prefers to stay in a place they’re not wanted. The first priority, if Beal were to consider a new home, would be winning, the source familiar with his thinking said.
But no-trade clause aside, it won’t be easy for the Suns to unload Beal, who has $160 million over three seasons (including this one) remaining on his contract.
Phoenix’s chase for Butler is riddled with complications. The Heat believe in two types of philosophies when it comes to big-time trades. First, acquire a franchise-altering star. And second, acquire players or picks that could help them land a franchise-altering star down the line.
Beal’s no-trade clause and off-the-bench status means he wouldn’t fall into either of those categories. So now, as The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote, is a push for the Suns to find a third team for Beal, one that is willing to take on his contract, can send Miami the pieces it desires in a trade of Butler, and be a franchise Beal would actually approve to join. Because the Suns are so expensive, they are not allowed to trade more than one player at a time. They don’t have many desirable assets at their disposal, just a 2031 first-round pick to sweeten the deal.
A trade of Nurkić wouldn’t be so simple, either. He makes $37.5 million over the next two seasons and is now a fourth-string center behind Richards, Plumlee, and rookie Oso Ighodaro.
Past the halfway point, the Suns are now 21-21, tied for 10th in the West.
The organization is clinging to hope. It might have reeled off 16 losses in 22 games after a 9-2 start, but that stretch coincided with an injury to Durant. Phoenix is still 20-12 with the former MVP in the lineup. Prorate that record over the course of the season, and the Suns are competing for second in the conference, not wallowing at the bottom of the Play-In Tournament.
But baked into Phoenix’s identity are the injuries. Booker has missed time during each of the past two seasons. Beal hasn’t played more than 60 games since 2019. Durant remains one of the world’s greatest but is 36 years old. The Suns won 49 games a season ago and excelled with their big three on the court together but still couldn’t win in the playoffs, getting swept out of the postseason in Round 1.
The biggest basketball story in Arizona could flip from Butler or Beal to Durant this summer, when the former MVP is eligible for an extension and enters the final year of his contract.
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