Bradley Beal’s agent talks Clippers’ vision, buyout with Suns and why stint didn’t work out in Phoenix
By Mark Medina
Amid overlapping injuries, a top-heavy roster and frequent coaching turnover, the Phoenix Suns vastly underachieved for the past two seasons with a first-round sweep to Minnesota (in 2024) and a missed playoff appearance altogether (2025).
Bradley Beal’s various injuries factored into those struggles as he played in only 106 out of a possible 164 games. But Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, strongly dismissed any notion that his play itself contributed to the Suns’ struggles. Beal still averaged 17.0 points while shooting 49.7% from the field and 38.6% from 3 along with 3.7 assists despite playing 38 out of 53 games last season as a reserve. Bartelstein added that Beal willingly sacrificed on a team that also included Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
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“Brad is one of the most selfless players that I’ve ever been around,” Bartelstein told Sportskeeda. “Brad is going to do whatever it takes to win. But the point of the matter is this guy is a very, very special player. He’s a very special talent. You can’t average 30 points in this league twice at the efficiency level that he did it at without being one of the very, very best there is. He is always going to play the right way. He’s always going to be selfless. But if you have Brad Beal on your team, you have to let him be Brad Beal. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense and you’re not getting the best version of him.”
So, after negotiating a buyout with the Suns, Beal plans to join the LA Clippers on a two-year, $11 million deal with a player option once he clears waivers. Beal partly joined that team both in hopes of winning an NBA title and because the Clippers outlined a significant role for him alongside Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Ivica Zubac, and John Collins.
Bartelstein, founder of Priority Sports, spoke extensively with Sportskeed about Beal’s discussions with the Clippers, their vision for him, and why things did not play out as hoped in Phoenix.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and posted.
How did it get to this point where Bradley decided it’s best for him to negotiate a buyout with the Suns and join the Clippers?
Bartelstein: “The most important thing for anybody in their life is having happiness and joy. Brad has put so much into his game and into his profession. That has been borne out with being a three-time All-Star (2018, 2019, 2021) and all-NBA player (third team in 2021), and second-leading scorer in the league (2020-21). These last two years in Phoenix hadn’t gone the way we hoped they would go, and I’m sure the way the Suns hoped it would go. The big part of the problem is that Brad got away from his identity and who he is as a player. Things didn’t mesh there the way they would hope. Brad made a lot of sacrifices in his individual game with all good intentions to help the team be successful. But it took him away from what he does best, which also led itself to the team not playing as well.
So just looking at the direction and the Suns were going, where they were at and how they were prioritizing themselves, we thought it was going to be really difficult for Brad to get back to being the absolute best version of himself. He was still one heck of a player last season. He averaged 17 points a game. But he wasn’t able to be everything that he’s capable of being, which is an All-Star in this league. So we came to the conclusion after looking at all the things, their trade with Houston and looking forward, the right thing for us would be to turn the page and go to a different spot where he would be a huge point of emphasis and be able to do the things he could do best. We talked to the Suns about getting permission to talk to teams. Obviously, we weren’t going to do any of this unless he found a spot that he thought was a great fit.
So we talked to the Suns about getting permission. We talked to different teams after they gave that permission about a month ago. Since then, there has been an exhaustive process with meeting with teams, visiting with teams, Zoom calls and all kinds of conversations. Brad and I felt like we found something that got us excited. So we thought it would make sense for us to go to Phoenix and do this separation.”
How are the Clippers’ the best fit for Brad compared to the other options he had?
Bartelstein: “He had a lot of options. He was heavily pursued by pretty much everybody in the NBA and certainly almost every top tier team. I had made it known in conversations around the league that we were looking to go somewhere where he could play in really big games and big moments. We knew there were places he can go to and score 30 points a game again. But he really wanted to go to a place where he can compete for a championship. So with that in mind, we quickly narrowed down to six or seven teams that we thought were in that world and with the roster shaped up, it would be a great fit for Brad. As we looked at everything, it was tough. He had a lot of great choices as we went through everything.
But he has a relationship with Ty Lue. They go way back. I think Ty’s vision for the things he wants to do with Brad will allow him to play to his fullest potential. The vision that Steve Ballmer has for Brad now and in the future and how good that team can be with the addition of Brad and all of the other things they have done this summer. Laurence [Frank] was relentless in articulating how important Brad is and how good he thought this would be. Then their performance staff was also excellent. Brad has been banged up a little bit. Their performance staff is elite and Brad has a previous relationship with Jesse Phillips (senior performance physical therapist). Maggie [Bryant] was so impressive in our meetings with her and the plan they want to put together for him.
So when we weighed everything, it was a really tough choice. All of these teams put together a great presentation. They all have great performance staffs, coaching staffs and great players. But we could only pick one. We felt at the end of the day that the Clippers was the very best fit.”
What did Ty, Laurence and anyone else say about what they think Brad’s role with be?
Bartelstein: “They want him to be the best version of Brad. They want to turn him lose. They expect him to play like an All-Star and impact winning. It’s about impacting winning on both ends of the floor at the highest level. The messaging is they want the very best and everything that Brad has to give.”
That being said, did they indicate what sacrifices Brad may need to make since he’s playing with Kawhi and Harden?
Bartelstein: “Brad’s always going to play the right way. Brad’s not someone that ever goes into a game thinking he has to take a certain amount of shots. He just wants to be heavily involved. He wants to be able to impose his will on the game and be in attack mode at all times. They certainly want that from him. On every great team, everybody makes sacrifices at some level. That’s how you win. You lift up your teammates. You celebrate your teammates’ successes. That’s the ingredient to winning. But the Clippers want the most aggressive and dynamic version of Brad. That’s music to his ears.”
What were the factors in play on why Brad didn’t want to negotiate a buyout when there was an opportunity to do so last season before the trade deadline?
Bartelstein: “We were never going to do that during the middle of the season. I would never do that in the middle of the year. If you’re going to do something like that, you have to make sure you’re set for success. Joining a team midseason is very difficult to do. So that was nothing that we would have ever considered last year. There were some trades that we talked about with different things. But we had a no-trade clause for a reason. It was to make sure that Brad could choose where he wanted to play. That was the whole purpose of the no-trade clause – to choose where he could play. That’s exactly what we were able to do here. This actually acted as a no-trade clause with the way we were able to do all of this. We were able to pick the perfect spot. Sometimes, the stars align the right way and we find the right spot. We’re hoping that’s exactly what happened with the Clippers.”
I know you’re not his trainer. But broadly speaking, what perspective can you give on what his recovery entailed this offseason and what he’s still working on?
Bartelstein: “Yeah, he’s working on bullet-proofing his body and getting himself very strong. He’s at it every day. He’s really working at it. He’s looking forward toward having a great summer and the rest of the summer. And then training camp will be here before we know it.”
To your point on all parties wishing that things worked out better in Phoenix with Brad. Beyond health, why don’t you think that was the case?
Bartelstein: “It just didn’t happen. Sometimes, things work. Sometimes, they don’t. There is no reason at pointing fingers or blaming anybody. That doesn’t do anybody any good. It just didn’t work. You can do one or two things in life. If something is not working, you can keep banging your head against the wall. Or you can see if there is better pathway and see if there is a different way to do things. So that’s what we chose. I think this is going to work out great for Brad.”
Did you see Brad show a willingness to adjust his role and sacrifice?
Bartelstein: “Brad is one of the most selfless players that I’ve ever been around. Brad is going to do whatever it takes to win. But the point of the matter is this guy is a very, very special player. He’s a very special talent. You can’t average 30 points in this league twice at the efficiency level that he did it at without being one of the very, very best there is. He is always going to play the right way. He’s always going to be selfless. But if you have Brad Beal on your team, you have to let him be Brad Beal. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense and you’re not getting the best version of him. That’s what I think is going to happen here with the Clippers.”
Shams had reported that Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Golden State and the Lakers were the other teams that pursued and talked with Brad and you. And that the terms with the Clippers are two years at $11 million with a player option. Are you able to confirm or clarify any of those details?
Bartelstein: “I don’t really like mentioning other teams. I’d just say there were a lot of really good teams that were extremely interested in pursuing him. So I would just leave it at that. In terms of the deal, yeah, it’s two years at $11 million with a player option. But with the player option, he’s obviously not going to pick that up. His value is way beyond this. He had to give up a little money to do this. But he’ll make it all back and more. This was a basketball decision for right now. Between the money he makes this year and going forward, he’ll make all of that back. But the option is really just an insurance policy, God forbid, if something happened. But he’s looking forward. The most important thing is he’s in a great head space. He is so excited about the opportunity. It’s a great opportunity for him to get back and try to win at the highest level on a really good team with a great organization, playing in really big games and big moments. So he’s really excited about all of that.
And he’s giving back $13.9 million, is that accurate?
Bartelstein: “Yeah. It was $13.8 [million] and change.”
I know it’s not your first rodeo, and it’s not Josh’s [Suns CEO]. But what was that like as father-to-son and pro-to-pro in figuring this all out?
Bartelstein: “There are a lot of things that we have to deal with, and you work through. Josh wasn’t just involved. It was [owner] Mat Ishbia, [general manager] Brian Gregory and [head coach] Jordan Ott. There were collective conversations among everybody to get to the right place. It’s never normal when you’re dealing with your son. But we know how to handle it the right way. His responsibility is to always do what’s best for the Suns. My responsibility is always to do what’s best for my clients. That line has never crossed, either way. There’s a line there. He’s always going to do what’s right by the Suns in the most-high integrity way. And I’m always going to do what’s right by our clients in the most-high integrity way. You just never cross those lines.”
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
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