Bradley Beal had options after he agreed to a buyout with Phoenix that allowed the Suns to waive-and-stretch the remaining money on his contract — Beal was a free agent. Teams from across the league were calling.
Beal chose the Los Angeles Clippers. Why? To win a ring, he told Tamar Sher of KMOV 4 when Beal was back in his hometown of St. Louis.
“I feel like I’ve got a new life of rejuvenation for sure, a new hunger.”
Beal is stepping into a key role with the Clippers, the one Norman Powell played at a near All-Star level for the team last season: Sharpshooter to space the floor, being a secondary shot creator on the wing next to James Harden, and running the second unit. Beal has come to a team that should win a lot of games: The Clippers were a 50-win team last season and should be improved after adding solid veteran depth around Harden and Kawhi Leonard, such as Brook Lopez as a backup center and John Collins at the four.
But are they contenders? Can Harden be trusted in the playoffs? Will Leonard be healthy?
The other challenge for coach Tyronn Lue will be balancing a deep roster, but one that has some one-way players. For example, do the Clippers start Beal next to Harden for the offense, or start Kris Dunn for the defense? Is Collins the starting four, or does he come off the bench and Derrick Jones Jr. starts because of his superior defense? Lue tried not to play Dunn and Jones Jr. together last season because it ruined the team’s floor spacing. Lue has to find that balance again.
Beal has joined a team where he feels comfortable, is going to have a big role, and is going to do a lot of winning in the regular season. However, he may not need to formalize his ring size just yet.
