The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the few teams that Phoenix Suns star Bradley Beal is willing to waive his no-trade clause, according to John Gambodoro, the longtime Sports Radio Talk Show host of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix.
“As for Beal the no-trade looms large. He could have [gone] to Milwaukee before he ended up in Phoenix but that was turned down. Have heard he would waive no trade for LA, Miami, Denver but I do believe there are a few others that he could ultimately decide work for him,” Gambodoro wrote in a post on X.
The Beal experiment in Phoenix isn’t working as the Suns moved the three-time NBA All-Star guard to the bench, along with veteran center Jusuf Nurkic.
“I think we just feel like we needed to make a change,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters, per The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin, before their January 6 road game against the Philadelphia 76ers. “Throughout a 48-minute game, you gotta figure out your best combinations, your best ways to try and have success.
“They are two important players to us, two very good players for us, we just felt like we needed to make a change.”
Suns Forcing Bradley Beal’s Hand?
While Budenholzer maintained the change was a product of their four-game losing streak, league observers view it as the Suns’ way of forcing Beal to waive his no-trade clause to pave the way for their pursuit of Miami Heat’s disgruntled star Jimmy Butler.
The Suns are the “most interested team” in the Butler sweepstakes, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. They would have to need Beal to waive his no-trade clause to make a trade possible.
However, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on the January 6 episode of the “NBA Today” that “Bradley Beal contract is a non-starter right now” for the Heat.
The Suns would need a third team to absorb Beal’s remaining three years worth $160 million of his five-year, $251 million max contract in a Butler trade.
Lakers Not Hunting for a Third Star
The Lakers could technically trade for Beal. However, it would gut out nearly half of their roster to match Beal’s $50.2 million salary for this season.
The Lakers are also not eyeing to add a third star after the failed Russell Westbrook experiment, according to Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike.
“Instead of frantically hunting for a third star or pushing chips in on a starting-caliber center, the Lakers, rival executives believe, will move in different ways than it might’ve seemed earlier this season,” Woike wrote.
Max Christie‘s rise as a defensive lynchpin in the Lakers backcourt has sparked their rebound from a rough stretch as they won eight of their next 11 games before his costly inbound play turnover late in the game of their 119-115 loss to the Houston Rockets.
The Lakers would like to wait for Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt’s return to fully evaluate their roster after the acquisitions of Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton before making a move, Woike added.
Backup Big Options
The Lakers are looking to add another center to ease the burden of Anthony Davis.
According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Lakers are still trying to acquire Washington Wizards center Jonas Valančiūnas.
“Having acquired the wing defender they sought in Finney-Smith, the next item for the Lakers on their list is a backup center,” Scotto reported. “The Lakers will continue to try and acquire Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas or another backup center on the trade market with their remaining future second-round draft capital, and Gabe Vincent is expected to be dangled in talks as well, league sources told HoopsHype.”
The Lakers’ other big man option, Utah Jazz’s Walker Kessler, is “not available in any realistic trade scenarios,” according to Woike.
Aside from the two big men, the Lakers have also registered interest in Portland Trail Blazers’ Robert Williams III and Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević.
