Bradley Beal Goes Off In DC, Miles Bridges’ Phoenix Suns Fit & NBA Trade Deadline Future vs Present

Bradley Beal Goes Off In DC, Miles Bridges’ Phoenix Suns Fit & NBA Trade Deadline Future vs Present

On today’s episode of Locked on suns Bradley Beal goes off in his return to Washington DC what would the Suns be looking at with Miles Bridges the player and what are the future considerations the Suns have to consider at the NBA trade deadline this week let’s go you

Are locked on suns your daily Phoenix Suns podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every Day and we’re back this is locked on Phoenix Suns we are part of the locked on podcast Network and I’m your host Brendan clean a credential media member covering the Suns for the past seven seasons a writer ATS sons.com and the host of the just basketball show

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Terms and conditions apply more from LinkedIn later on in the show but let’s go with this game 43 points for Beal 16 of 21 from the field six assists it’s easy to say this is the type of game Beal has to have for the Suns to hit their ceiling and duh right

Obviously you could say that about any of the big three On Any Given night what I will say about this game that was especially impressive as we look at what it means right not just okay great yeah he was in his bag right pull up mid-range jumper after pull up

Mid-range jumper getting to the basket hitting threes all of it and that’s great but it’s not just how you want him to play because he played well it’s the mentality and of course it helps that it happened on his return to Washington I I don’t think that’s a coincidence how how

Could it be right Frank vogle postgame or when Beal checked out for the final time giving him you know a long Embrace and telling the Courtside fans to give him an Applause I thought that was kind of funny so of course this one mattered more and it probably is why he came out

Hot but the style he played with is is what the suns are going to need even if the points aren’t aren’t always there right what he did is he hunted his own shot he created his own shot and he attacked mismatches and for him to at least have

Spurts of games or if you look forward into the postseason ideally series you want him to have moments like this where he is able to have a run that just he sets up for himself just purely Bradley Beal went off for five minutes should be one of

The ingredients the Suns have at their disposal in a postseason situation in a big game situation and it’s not going to happen unless his mindset is like this this is not criticism of him this is It’s a few things right it’s showing that he still has it this

Game because the last time he scored 40 plus was with the Lakers and it was really scoring off of Durant in a lot of ways throughout that game so for him to show that he can do it himself and kind of show us classic Brad Beal again that’s one

Part the other part is to identify look it’s not easy here with this this balance right because you know book was out of rhythm because of his foul trouble again Durant got his and if there was a fourth quarter where these guys had to play you would think Durant gets to 20 25

Points but it’s hard to just say all right each guy gets 30 because it just doesn’t really work that way so this game showed that Beal can still do this which no undoubted but it’s a good reminder and looking forward it’s about how can he capture

The mindset and the style that he came to this game with maybe because it was his return game maybe it was just a good one how can he channel that when maybe it’s not an opportunity for him for a whole game but can he do it for a

Quarter can he do it for a half cuz that can change things for the Suns I hope it can happen we’ll monitor it of course the other thing I want to point out though is the nature of this game setting aside the history that he has with the Wizards

Of course but Beal in particular doing this after a few bad games with this mask is also important because it’s easy to overlook when Beal is three of eight against Brooklyn eight of 21 against Miami in wins but when it’s four of 13 against the magic or five of 16 against the

Hawks in losses on the road it’s not as Overlook and so I saw a lot of fans frustrated with him coming off of that Hawks game and rightly so I would point point out he had 10 assists in that game but to me the other part of the turn I

Jumped in front of myself there the other part of Beal struggles lately have been the turnover so for him to only have two on top of scoring so efficiently is extra impressive but my point is the bounceback it shows an impressive level of poise to not let a rut be

Prolonged that is in and of it self a sort of proof of Beal’s star stuff right if the Suns for instance and I’m not trying to do the whole should they have made these trades and all that but just for the point of comparison especially because the Suns played the

Wizards today where Landry shamut still plays let’s just use him as an example he was in the deal imag imagine if the sun still had shamut right as maybe even a starter on this team if shamet had had two games back to back like be just had where he went a

Combined one of 10 from the field or even three games if you want to extend it back there sub 40% shooting in all three two of nine one of three 0 of seven from deep that can turn into weeks for a lot of players for Beal he just flipped the switch

Basically decided to be a little bit more aggressive and things turned around that’s how the Suns have been too is what’s important to note right it’s not just oh wow Beal cool star that matters it shows the way that this Sun’s team can overcome some bad performances

But the reality is they’ve actually been doing that all season they at least let’s say during this stretch with all the guys healthy so the Mavs game on Christmas pretty rough loss right especially coming off of a Kings game the Friday before that it was also a double- digit loss and

Even the Blazers before that three in a row pretty ugly what do they do they go to the road in Houston 2 days later and they stomped the Rockets who are a pretty solid team they lose to the Clippers in a pretty ugly one on Monday January 8th

Second night of a back toback that ugly Grizzlies home loss but then really bad Clippers loss by 27 points what do they do they come out and they stomp the Lakers by 18 you have the Magic game on this road trip where they really didn’t stand a chance

And were just outplayed by a younger Team without a lot of offensive Firepower what do they do they go into Miami and they stomp the heat on the second night of a back toback on the road I know it’s short travel from Orlando to Miami but

I’m counting it and then this one you lose by nine to the Hawks in a game that you really never had control of and what do you do you enter the Wizards building and you take care of business so that’s why this game matters Beal’s having basically an identical

Season to what he’s had the past couple years he’s you know the the the productivity right the points per game and stuff isn’t going to be as high but efficiency wise everything else he’s maybe not drawing as many fouls he’s not doing some of the stuff you do when the

Ball is in your hands all the time but everything is there except for the three-point shot that’s the last thing I guess I should mention four of five today aggressive I think there is an adjustment period from taking pullup threes all the time when you’re basically playing point guard for Washington

To even if they’re wide open needing to pull that trigger from Deep on the catch let’s hope this game even though it was a lot of pull-ups in this one too can get him going there and then really you’re looking at a an NBA an all-nba Allstar type of efficiency season from

Beal in line with his best years and this game could be a jumping off point for that next miles Bridges the player you heard my thoughts on the legal situation the ramifications of trading for him the contract stuff and all that let’s talk about him on the

Court as well heading into a week where the Suns very well may trade for Miles Bridges we’ll do that next first Today’s Show brought to you by LinkedIn jobs when you’re hiring as a small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for your

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Player all right before we get into that I want to remind everybody to sign up for lock on Sons Insider text alerts so I go online and look at everything going on with the Sun so you do not have to news rumors podcast interview summaries

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Visit joins sub tex.com loock onson to sign up or click the link down below wherever you’re finding the show YouTube Spotify Apple wherever click that and it’ll take you right to the page Mel Mel miles Bridges you guys know how I feel about the offc court issues the off Court situation

And I don’t think that it’s possible to to just fully separate the two but because I have not weighed in on what he would bring to the team as a player I wanted to give my analysis there as well Bridges is on a one-year qualifying offer contract way below market

Value because he was suspended for domestic abuse charges and plea deal that he took acknowledging you know um settling the criminal charges rather than you know going through a trial and all that so he’s on this very bargain deal he is also very young you know obviously

Because he just came off of his rookie contract he’s only 25 going to be 26 he did spend two years in college so he’s a little bit older but here’s my thing with Bridges he’s on a bad team those types of players are hard to measure hard to

Evaluate there’s been one year in his career where the Hornets were at least a respectable team that was the one full season that happened during Co when the Suns made the finals the team was 33 and 39 actually that’s not true this season happened to

Be his best but it was actually the the next year where they were above 500 but either way they made the play in game both seasons the point I wanted to make about the 2020 2021 season which was his best in terms of impact and efficiency and winning

Basketball is that it happened where he ended up actually taking a little bit of a back seat he tallied up more blocks he had a lower usage rate and took fewer shot attempts and took more of his shots from three rather than from other spots on

The court played more like a role player right and on that Year’s team you had a healthy Terry roier you had a healthy yish lamelo ball you had role players like the Martin Twins and Jaylen McDaniels Who provided some Wing depth you had Malik Monk on that team PJ

Washington with a uh a pretty efficient season and then some veteran centers Cody Zeller bismack biombo so a little more structure and bridges was able to thrive but the biggest thing is he made his threes and I think that’s kind of where you have to start he’s a career

34.8% three-point shooter which when I’ve posted guys like Jon Tate or Delon Wright as options for the Suns who would bring a little bit more three and D intensity to this team people say Well they’re not good enough Shooters miles Bridges is not a good enough shooter

Either if that’s you know if you’re just kind of looking at the year-to-year for him he takes a lot so maybe you would say if he’s taking fewer and obviously on a good team again that makes it hard to evaluate cuz it’s been on a bad team

Maybe if he takes fewer and takes wide open threes I’m not saying it’s hopeless but I’m just saying he’s been in the league for F four he’s been in the league for Five Seasons now played Five Seasons he’s been in the league for six and the reality is that he just has not

Consistently knocked down those shots so that’s one thing this season again uh higher usage than ever before low average true shooting efficiency he’s just the the the Hornets are are a hopeless team right now but the numbers don’t love him right he and not just from those standpoints but

How he’s getting the job done either he’s leaning a lot on mid-range shots taking more mid-rangers than ever before he’s not really a guy that gets to the line all that often and he was an elite finisher previously but this year even that has sort of Gone Away now there’s

Russ again this is part of why you cannot separate the recent history for him from what it would mean to trade for him the ENC Court whatever but again we’re leaving that a little bit to the side for right now obviously there are reasons for some of this because he was

Away from basketball for a while but that doesn’t change the reality which is you’re not trading for him to develop him you’re trading for anybody that the Suns would want to acquire this week it’s to get better right now and Turbo Charge their team for the stretch run of the

Season which brings me to what he could be on this team he’s mostly a play finisher on offense always has been he is not a shot Creator he is not somebody you just dump the ball to to get Buckets even though he can score it’s off of other guys it’s

Off of PJ Washington Terry roier lamelo ball Etc Gordon Gordon Hayward right and that’s what the Suns need so that’s good it’s not another guy you want to you need to feed necessarily in the way of soaking up possessions on the defensive end though I don’t love the fit at all I’m just

Going to say that he is more of a he he brings size okay that’s good the Suns need to get bigger because none of their forwards have really worked out when you’re talking about metu Bates Diop little Etc and little would probably be going out in this trade because the salary it

Has to be him basically but they need size and he brings that but he’s really A Team Defender he’s not this type of lateral athlete if you understand where I’m going with that right he can leap and dunk and run fast he is an athlete in

That sense he’s not a great athlete when it comes to you know getting in a deep defensive stance and and slithering around screens and you know bodying guys in the post or weak side Rim protection I’m not saying he can never be that but

His his the way he moves on the court is not naturally like that type of really really difference making Defender and he hasn’t really shown that level of impact on that end in the NBA so to me miles Bridges even if the talent is clearly far and away and the upside is

Clearly far and away as he starts to enter his prime here better than any player that the Suns could get he’s really an upgrade over Gordon and Grayson Allen to me than he is somebody who is filling a son’s need I think of him more as a

Four Kevin Durant is is a four Eric Gordon really defensively is a four he he doesn’t defend small guys very well Grayson Allen okay he’s a guard so maybe it’s an upgrade over Gordon you would say that’s what Bridges is and you can play them together but

The point is the Suns need the Suns need a better nir little the Suns need a better Kates deop I don’t really know if they need a better Eric Gordon they have that already they have a lot of guys like that already let’s close the show talking through four future considerations the

Suns need to consider at the NBA trade deadline first Today’s Show brought to you by the FanDuel sports book America’s number one sports book and the official sports book partner of the locked on podcast network if you’re like me Super Bowl Sunday is about getting the best snacks at the table

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Four excuse me four things for you that I think the suns are thinking about that might not be getting a lot of attention that have to do with the future Beyond this week but that will affect what they do this week at the deadline okay so I’ll give you the first example

So you know what I mean that was Siri on my watch who was listening to mying Grayson Allen will be a free agent this summer okay that’s number one the reason I bring it up is not because I think think oh the suns are going to trade Grayson Allen to avoid

Having to pay him no they’re going to keep him I unless they’re upgrading from him which I still think is a long shot because of how valuable he’s been earning that fifth starter spot I mean you would have to be getting like a a Bonafide starter type

Of guy I just don’t think that tradeit is out there rather why I bring him up is I think he’s in line for a$ 155 to20 million salary this upcoming summer I would imagine that the Suns want to be the team to give him that contract as expensive as that will

Become his cap hold is $17 million so let’s just say it’s 17 I would think that they go shorter on that right maybe a one one year deal with a player option for year two that lines up with Durant’s contract I could see something like that

So maybe like 17 in year one and 19 in year two a 2-year 36 million doll contract or something like that the reason I bring it up even though I don’t expect them to trade him is that means the team gets very expensive so if they trade nir

Little if they trade somebody into a traded player exception I would imagine that player will be a rental there’s only so many players you can plan to pay in one summer and Grayson Allen seems to be the one guy the Suns will also be one step closer to yusf nurkic being expiring

Which still two years away so don’t get your hopes up there but that would set them up to have Grayson Al Allen as an expiring contract next summer which can have some trade value and then Yousef nerkish the following summer but I wouldn’t be surprised as we move to Future consideration number two

Which relates to nir little if a trade for him ends up being for somebody yes like a miles Bridges from a contract standpoint because he’s on a one-year deal I would guess with Bridges specifically if the suns are acquiring him their intention would be to keep him

Beyond this year but there’s other guys who that might not be the case for D Wright I know he didn’t look great today if you’re watching the W Suns Wizards game maybe that’s just not worth it but as another example his contract is expiring so you’re taking this little you are turning him

Into somebody with only this year left on their contract and if you don’t keep that player then little slot can then turn into a minimum contract right so you go from you save a little bit of money there turning a $7 million player in little into a $3 million player

That’s not the difference between Grayson Allen’s contract you’re going to have to just eat it a little bit if you pay Grayson but that can be one way they that they save it the other thing with nir little though this is kind of a twoin one that you have to be thinking about

Right now if you’re the Suns is can you get more for him now on heading into the deadline or if nothing great materializes what can you get for him on draft night because again he is really the only medium salary that the Suns have that’s going to have value they

Don’t want to trade Grayson on draft night they won’t really be able to trade Grayson very easily because he will be a free agent and nurkic don’t think is really a tradable player right now I don’t think any team would take him just from a contract standpoint he’s he’s

Under contract for so long he’s very expensive for what he is so it has to be nir little if you trade nir little now obviously it makes your team better it gives you a better chance at a title but it means that on draft night and over the summer you

Don’t have a lot to trade at all you think they don’t have a lot now they really won’t have a lot then especially with the new rules where this deadline is the last year that the Suns can take back more salary than they bring in so I’ll be very interested once we

Know if they traded little and if and what for if they do what that will what that will look like for the expiring versus not expiring standpoint as well as how it impacts what they can do on draft night because they’ll have their first round pick so you can attach

Little plus a first to something versus now it’s little plus a few seconds the Suns will actually also have a pretty good first round pick this year if they stay sort of in the middle of the West they’ll be in like the early 20s that’s not a bad pick they could

Take a player which would be nice but time will tell that brings us to the next one which is that the Dario charage traded player exception which is the bigger of the two expires this week but the campaign traded player exception lasts through the summer transaction cycle so that could be one more

Thing one more option for the Suns to use on draft night would be to dangle the first round pick plus that tpe and get somebody into it the main point is don’t be surprised if they don’t both get used one traded player exceptions are hard to hard to

Use because it has to be the exact right salary the other team has to be willing to play ball and take back maybe not a player and just get picks whatever the case may be so the Suns might only use one and then the last thing is not super

Important but if the Suns do end up trading any of their minimum players just from a roster spot standpoint or anything else you have to think about which ones do you want to get rid of I think kogi is a no-go Gordon is a no-o because those guys are in the rotation

Right now but everybody has a player option next year besides metu and Bub I doubt they would trade bu because again he’s playing he has Mo the most upside I would think metu is the most likely because they haven’t gotten a lot out of him and he can just leave in the

Summer if he wants to I mean everybody can leave in the summer if they want to but it’s even easier because there’s no option for him but the other part is you can give these guys a raise if you want if you keep them longer so I would think maybe

Somebody like Eubanks or Bates Diop who has played a little bit you might want to have them on a bigger salary in the future you might want to keep developing them those negotiations might matter but that’s my list that is what I think the Suns need to keep track of looking

Toward the future at trade deadline day that will wrap us up a show with Brandon dwas looking at the latest rumors who who knows there’s usually a trade Monday so I’m sure we’ll have plenty to talk about in the meantime enjoy your Monday and we will catch you guys tomorrow

Bradley Beal kicked off NBA trade deadline week with a monster performance in his return to Washington.

Brendon Kleen of @justbasketballfans breaks down Beal’s big game and what it tells us about the Suns. Then, a look at what Miles Bridges would bring to the Suns on the court plus four things the Suns have to weight at this week’s NBA trade deadline related to next summer and beyond.

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