West Rival Expected to Steal $250 Million Star Away From Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are among a handful of teams looking for inexpensive ways to improve this summer without mortgaging their 2026 and 2027 offseasons, during which the franchise plans to spend big reconstructing its roster around superstar Luka Doncic.

Los Angeles already landed a surprise buyout player in center Deandre Ayton, who parted ways with the Portland Trail Blazers early in free agency. And it’s a good thing for the Lakers that he did, as the team missed out on big men Clint Capela and Brook Lopez who signed with the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers, respectively.

The Clippers are also now the favorites to land shooting guard Bradley Beal after signing Lopez out from under the Lakers. The Phoenix Suns currently employ Beal, who has $110 million remaining on his five-year, $250 million contract. However, most insiders around the NBA predict that Phoenix will waive Beal and stretch his contract across several years, which will put him on the free-agent market later this month.

“I think the waive and stretch is gonna happen next week, and I think he’ll sign with the Clippers next week,” Zach Lowe of The Ringer said on the July 10 edition of “The Zach Lowe Show” podcast.

The Lakers are among a handful of teams with interest in Beal, which also includes the Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, according to a report from league insider Marc Stein on Saturday.

Bradley Beal Will Play Cheap for New Team Next Season

GettyBradley Beal of the Phoenix Suns.

A couple of days prior to Lowe’s podcast, The Athletic’s Law Murray, Dan Woike and Fred Katz authored a similar report on Beal and the Clippers.

In that article, the trio of writers explained that Beal will only cost $5.3 million next season, which is one of the reasons why the 32-year-old is so valuable and sought after in the current market.

The Clippers can offer Beal up to $5.3 million in salary for the 2025-26 season. They have cap space left over from the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which they used most of to sign Brook Lopez. The team finalized his contract on Sunday.

Because of a quirk in the collective bargaining agreement, Beal must give back at least $13.8 million in a buyout for the Suns to stretch his salary.

Beal understands that because the money has dried up on the free-agent market, he is unlikely to make back the $13.8 million he would be giving up right away. His ideal move could be to sign a two-year contract with a player option on the second season, allowing him to re-enter the market in 2026 to sign for a larger number.

Bradley Beal Remains High-Level Offensive Threat in NBA

GettyPhoenix Suns shooting guard Bradley Beal.

The second year on a deal for Beal wouldn’t be as attractive, but it’s also not likely to be overly onerous given the waive-and-stretch situation with the Suns, which that franchise will have to execute for any of this to become possible in the first place.

Beal isn’t a great defender, though he can play passably on that side of the court when engaged. And offensively, Beal remains a legitimate star-level asset — particularly if he’s playing on a good contract.

The three-time All-Star averaged 17 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 32.1 minutes of playing time across 53 appearances (38 starts) for the Suns last season.