Safe to say Bradley Beal is eager to join forces with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
“I get antsy just thinking about it because I haven’t had those opportunities,” Beal said. “And it’s the same with the other two guys and DA (Deandre Ayton). It’s crazy. I met with these guys. The first thing (Suns president of basketball operations and general manager) James (Jones) said, ‘When we played you, we pretty much doubled you when you had the ball, but you here with us, who are you going to double team?'”
Beal had his introductory press conference Thursday at Footprint Center as the Phoenix Suns now have arguably the most prolific scoring trio in the NBA with Booker, Durant and Beal.
“These pieces are a great foundation for what we hope can be a championship run for this franchise,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said.
The Suns traded Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, six second-round picks and four first-round pick swaps to the Wizards for Jordan Goodwin, Isaiah Todd and Beal.
“I’m excited about it,” Beal continued. “You have a lot of dynamic scorers, the biggest box that we check is our unselfishness. All us just want to compete, we want to play hard and the biggest thing is we want to win. I think we all have unbelievable talents that we respect and we unselfishly push each other to be the best we can possibly be. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Having a no-trade clause enabled Beal to have power over where he wound up.
He ended up in Phoenix with a legit chance to win a championship for the first time in his career that began in the 2012-13 season.
“It’s huge,” Beal said. “I think one of the biggest things we take for granted as players is who is around you, the players around you and what they bring every single day. It’s not easy to win in this league. I think that’s what a lot of people get misconstrued. No matter how much you have, you still have to make it work, you still got to put in the work and go get the job done. I’m super ecstatic that every single day, I get to play in a meaningful game.”
Beal is a three-time all-star, made all-NBA in 2020-21 season when averaging a career-high 31.3 points a game and left the Wizards as the all-time leader in made 3s with 1,514 and second all-time in scoring with 15,391 points.
He has the numbers and accolades, but Beal has never made it past the conference semifinals. His last two playoff appearances have ended in first-round exits as he last played in the playoffs in 2021.
Turning 30 years old on Wednesday, Beal envisions having much more postseason success in Phoenix.
“I think that’s one of the biggest decisions that impacted me coming here of knowing every single night, I’m going to be in an important game,” Beal continued. “Every single night, I may have a chance to be on television every single night. Teams are going to give us their best. So I look forward to that challenge and also be in a position to where we’re a targeted team. Every single night, I’ve got to lace them up.”
The 6-4 guard averaged 23.2 points in his last two seasons in a total of 90 games.
Beal is not only looking to return to the postseason but play a huge role in helping bring Phoenix its first NBA championship.
“This is an exciting moment for me,” Beal said. “It’s an awesome team. Like Coach said, we have a very awesome core I’m just happy to be a part of and excited to push these guys every single day and learn from them as well. My family and I look forward to meeting everybody here, engaging with everybody, with the city, with the fans, the community. I’m very big on being impactful as I can.”
Beal won the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for the entire 2018-19 season.
“I look forward to meeting everybody and being as impactful as I can, and hopefully, we can chase this ring,” Beal added.
