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Former Gator basketball player Bradley Beal was traded to the Phoenix Suns Sunday. Beal committed to the University of Florida as a guard in 2009 and played one season for the Gators in the 2011-12 season. After his only season, Beal declared for the NBA Draft. He was drafted by the Washington Wizards with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
Now, Beal is being traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, future second-round picks and multiple pick swaps.
BREAKING: Wizards are finalizing a trade to send Bradley Beal to the Suns, per @wojespn
New Big 3 in Phoenix ☀️👀 pic.twitter.com/m9s26K4tL3
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 18, 2023
What Beal Adds
With the acquisition, Phoenix added one of the league’s most consistent scorers in Beal. He is teaming up with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Ayton, making the Suns one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the league.
Last season, Beal played in just 50 games but averaged 23.2 points per game. Over his career, he’s averaged 22.1 points per game on 46% shooting. Moreover, his best year came during the 2020-21 season, where he averaged 31.3 points per game. He’s made three All Star teams, and earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in 2020.
However, Phoenix lacks depth on the team. The big four will bring advantages to the team in shooting and scoring, but there are many other issues that the Suns need to address. Issues like team defense and rebounding will need to be fixed after the team was dominated by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Watch the 2023 #NBADraft Presented by State Farm on Thursday, June 22 at 8 PM ET on ABC/ESPN. pic.twitter.com/SUjjXIVAGz
— NBA (@NBA) June 17, 2023
The Miami Heat were also considering Beal, but they were not aggressive enough. Instead, the Heat are set on Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Lillard. The Suns have their core players set for this season, while the Wizards enter a much-needed rebuilding era.
Beal with Florida
With the Gators, Beal started all 37 games as a freshman, averaging 14.8 points per game. He led the team in rebounds per game, averaging 6.7, and was named first-team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman.
