Speaking to reporters after the game, Beal said he doesn’t consider himself a bench player, but made it clear he doesn’t intend to make waves by pushing back against head coach Mike Budenholzer‘s decision to make lineup changes.
“I’m a starter in the league. I firmly believe that,” Beal said, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “No disrespect to anybody, but I’m a starter and that’s what I firmly believe, but Coach made his decision. I’m not going to sit there and argue with him. I’m not going to sit here and be a distraction. I’m not going to sit here and be an a–hole. He made his decision. Got to live with it.”
Despite coming off the bench, Beal logged the third-most minutes among Suns players on Monday, behind only Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, which suggests that his workload may not change significantly even if he’s not one of Phoenix’s first five players on the court. Ryan Dunn, the Suns’ talented rookie wing defender, stepped into the lineup in Beal’s place, and was lauded by his veteran teammate for how he handled the promotion, notes Rankin.
“My first thought process was him,” Beal said. “He’s thrown in the fire and the mix of everything. He doesn’t really get to enjoy starting as a young rookie in the league. That’s big. Everybody is so caught up in my s–t and whatever is going on (with me). … I told him before the game, ‘Just lock in. Just be you. Keep playing the way you’ve been playing. You ain’t doing nothing wrong. Stay locked in and be you.’ And he did that and I’m so proud of him.”
Beal’s comment about the media focusing on “my s–t and whatever is going on” with him was presumably a reference not only to the fact that he came off the bench for the first time since March 2016, but also to the trade rumors swirling around him.
Reports have continually linked Heat forward Jimmy Butler to the Suns, with Chris Mannix of SI.com citing executives who say that Butler’s camp has made it clear Phoenix is his “one desired destination.” Beal would almost certainly have to be included in any deal for Butler due to Phoenix’s second-apron restrictions. Crucially, he’d also have to approve the deal, since he holds a no-trade clause.
“(The Suns) absolutely are trying to trade Bradley Beal,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a “First Take” appearance on Tuesday. “… So they put him on the bench. Now you may say, ‘Why would you do that? If you’re trying to trade a player, why would you put him on the bench?’ And that’s because…the only way they can trade him is if he says, ‘I’m OK to be traded.’ So instead of trying to build him up, they have to violate the cardinal rule (of boosting a player’s trade value) and put him on the bench.
“Now I know that there were schematic reasons why they did it, and Mike Budenholzer tried to explain. But they’re basically trying to make him feel unwelcome in Phoenix so that he will waive that no-trade clause.”
While there’s a belief that Beal would accept a trade to Miami, the Heat reportedly have no interest in acquiring him due to his no-trade clause and the two years and $111M left on his deal beyond this season. That means if the Suns want to land Butler, they’ll have to find a third team willing to take on Beal and his massive contract.
Asked after Monday’s game if he believes the demotion to the bench is related to a potential trade, Beal reminded reporters that he’ll have a say in that process.
“If so, I need to be addressed because I hold the cards,” Beal said, according to Rankin. “Until I’m addressed and somebody says something different, then I’ll be a Sun.”
