Lakers Named ‘Best New Fit’ For $251 Million All-NBA Guard

The Bradley Beal story is in the news again. The Los Angeles Lakers showed interest in the All-NBA guard on multiple occasions. They were eliminated from the playoffs again and the front office has already turned the page. Darvin Ham is no longer the Lakers head coach and the team is also looking for a third player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Greg Swartz from Bleacher Report mentioned Beal as a potential target for the Lakers. His stats are crazy which turns him into a natural fit for the Lakers.

“Beal would thrive in a new situation where he gets more shot opportunities and can play alongside a pass-first floor general,” Swartz wrote in his May 8 article exploring five NBA starts on the wrong team. “The Los Angeles Lakers could use Beal’s scoring to help take pressure off LeBron James.”

Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract and can shut down pretty much any trade scenario.

“Beal’s contract is going to be tough to move, especially because he still has a no-trade clause,” Swartz wrote. “However, the three-time All-Star is still arguably a top-five shooting guard in the league who can help teams in need of scoring.”

Beal signed a five-year deal worth $251 million with the Phoenix Suns. He has a $50.2 million cap hit for the upcoming season, cutting the Suns’ chance to add more stars in the offseason. Rich Bucher from Fox Sports believes that the Suns should move his contract.

“Taking the swing to acquire him wasn’t without justification,” the exec said. “But Beal is toxic debt now. You have to move on before Book and KD demand trades and you lose leverage in the market place.”

Lakers have to think twice before going after the All-NBA guard

Beal may not be the player LA is looking for. They will have to pay a lot and deal with a no-trade clause to get him. Is he worth the pain? Beal didn’t make a huge impact in his first season with the Suns.

According to Grant Hughes from Bleacher Report, the Suns’ biggest target is the Beal trade.

“Anyone who thought adding a third score-first player (at the cost of roster depth and balance) to a team that already had two elite bucket-getters did a lot of self-satisfied nodding as Phoenix posted the NBA’s worst fourth-quarter plus/minus while playing some truly uninspiring “your turn, my turn” offense,” Hughes wrote in an April 16 story.