What they're saying about former Florida Gators star Bradley Beal
The recent trade of former Florida Gators guard Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards to the Phoenix Suns has been one of the biggest moves of the NBA offseason.
And for good reason.
Beal, who played just one season with the Gators before going No. 3 overall in the 2012 draft, averages 22.1 points per game over an 11-year career. For the Suns, he might just be the missing piece. In the valley, Beal will play alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, two of the league’s biggest stars.
Here’s what they’re saying about Bradley Beal in the media …
–ESPN: Beal, who averaged 30.5 points and 31.3 points per game during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons for the Wizards, isn’t worried about fitting in, finding shots or perhaps having to play some point guard in the Suns’ stacked offense. And he isn’t concerned about who will be the main guy although he did give a nod to Booker, who is entering his ninth season with the Suns.
“I don’t look at the NBA like, ‘Oh, it’s my team,’ ‘Oh, it’s your team,'” Beal explained. “It’s everybody. We all got to compete. We all got to do this thing together and make it happen.
“But understand that this is ‘Book Nation.’ I understand that this is his stomping grounds, this is his arena, and I’m excited for that. I’m excited to be able to play with two Hall of Famers.
Was the trade good for both organizations?
–Tim MacMahon ESPN: The Washington Wizards trading Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns, a move clearly signaling that Washington would begin a long-overdue rebuilding process under new team president Michael Winger. Yes, the return for Beal was underwhelming, but you can’t blame the Wizards’ new regime for being handcuffed by the no-trade clause that was inexplicably included in Beal’s supermax contract. The Wizards got a bundle of second-round draft picks, some pick swaps and, after flipping Chris Paul, a young scorer in Jordan Poole and a future first-round pick. Most importantly, after years of being stuck in the middle, Washington wisely hit the reset button.
–Heavy: Beal will now be the third All-Star in the Suns’ starting lineup with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as the Suns continue to try and build a title contender. Some wonder if this is a tandem that can work together, with all three stars being volume scorers. But Booker is just looking forward to sharing the floor with his new teammate.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Booker said when asked about playing with Beal during an appearance at the basketball camp of Los Angeles Lakers star point guard D’Angelo Russell in June via WHAS’ Kent Spence. “It’s going to be a fun time.”
Beal is known for his work ethic
–Burncitysports: Today was the first day of the summer league minicamp for some new faces of the Sunsorganization and newly acquired Suns player Isaiah Todd spoke to the media for the first time since he was traded to the team.
Todd was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Phoneix Suns as a part of the Bradley Beal trade about a month ago and he was asked a ton of questions about the Suns’ new star player and what he brings to the table from a work ethic perspective.
“I don’t know what people talk about him but I know he’s one of the hardest workers that I’ve ever met,” Todd says. “Every time I come into the gym he’s in there working on something. He told me to live in the weight room I never forget and I see him living in the weight room, living in a gym, and that’s just motivation for me as a young guy coming in.”
Bradley Beal has a complicated history in Washington
–Bulletsforever: There is a lot to unpack with Beal. Here are my thoughts. While I certainly understand the passion from both sides of this debate, there are some things that I think are indisputable:
-Beal was undoubtedly one of the best players in this franchise’s history. Perhaps that is partly due to the franchise not producing many stars over the past few decades, but it doesn’t change his standing with the team’s history.
-He did not live up to the billing of a ‘franchise player’. His only playoff berth with that moniker came as a result of winning a spot in the play-in tournament and lead to the team losing in 5 games in a non-competitive 1st round against the Philadelphia 76ers.
