“Is this really a change?” : Kevin Durant tries to justify Bradley Beal’s move to the bench

Bradley Beal takes a 6^th The man role for the Phoenix Suns wasn’t on most fans’ bingo cards for the 2024-25 season. While PHX is mediocre and failing to gain momentum, Mike Budenholzer and his staff are convinced that Beal being a spark plug offensive creator would be more beneficial. In the midst of all this, Kevin Durant gave his opinion on the subject.

“Is this really a change? asked KD about Beal’s new role. Durant “argues” that the shooter always gets more or less the hits he needs. “You (Beal) are still playing a lot of minutes, making his shots. The last 3 games, I just feel like he’s more comfortable.

Since coming off the bench over the last 3 days, Beal has had two very effective and successful matches. against the Pacers, he dropped a team leading 25 points on 10-15 shooting from the field. Last night’s win against the Hawks allowed him to once again have 25 on 11-16 shooting. Both of those performances sandwiched a below-average 10-point outing.

The Suns are 2-1 in Beal’s bench era, which is an incredibly small sample size, but with the way the season is going for them, there might be something to that.

Many thought a star of Brad’s caliber would be looked down upon by being relegated to the bench. However, he took rookie Ryan Dunn under his wing after Dunn was named to the starting lineup in his place. “Brad is a brother to me. He has my back and I have his back. He’s a great teammate. said Dunn.

Is there more to Beal’s new role?

It would be pretty stupid for fans to believe that Beal’s move to the bench was solely due to the Suns’ poor record. Jimmy Butler’s desire to leave Miami most certainly had something to do with Phoenix’s sudden roster change.

The former Wizards All-Star has a unique no-trade clause in his contract. This limits the Suns’ options to places where he can be traded, as Beal is the one who can endorse any trade destination.

Thus, it has been heavily speculated that Mat Ishbia’s front office placed Beal in several uncomfortable situations like this to make him feel “unwanted” in Phoenix. That sentiment would perhaps allow him to waive his no-trade clause, leading to possible trades for Butler.

But it is quite a complicated test. Bradley clearly stated very recently that the Suns have not spoken to him in person about any trade. Jimmy is in his own battle with Pat Riley on the East Coast, something Riley has never faced from his superstars. It’s safe to say that this 2025 trade deadline will be a pretty interesting watch.