The NBA has been rocked by a secret family deal that has shafted one of the most popular players in the league.
Three-time NBA All-Star guard Bradley Beal will join the Phoenix Suns in a trade that will send 38-year-old guard Chris Paul to Washington.
ESPN and The Athletic said the deal would also include guard Landry Shamet, a handful of NBA Draft picks and multiple draft pick swaps, with final pick details yet to be settled.
Beal, who turns 30 on June 28, would join Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to revive the Suns’ hopes of winning their first NBA title.
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Beal has played his entire 11-year NBA career with the Wizards, averaging 22.1 points, 2.3 assists, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals a game.
The Wizards, 35-47 in each of the past two seasons, have made the playoffs five times since Beal arrived with the third overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft but never gone beyond the second round. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2017.
Paul, still chasing his first NBA title, joins a club that collected its only league crown in 1978.
The 12-time NBA All-Star guard is a five-time season assists leader, most recently in 2021-22, and six-time NBA steals leader but has found only futility in a title quest during stops at New Orleans, the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston, Oklahoma City and for the past three seasons in Phoenix.
According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal includes a classy caveat that has allowed Washington to field potential trade offers from rival clubs surrounding Paul’s future and his desire to end up at a team capable of competing for a championship.
That doesn’t mean the popular veteran hasn’t been shafted.
The veteran ESPN journalist posted on Twitter Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports has said the deal has been “extremely complicated” to pull off.
It certainly helps that Bartelstein is the father of current Phoenix Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein.
It has been no secret that the Suns have been interested in Beal for some time — and the father-son connection is understandably generating plenty of chatter.
NBA commentator Rob Perez wrote on Twitter Josh Bartelstein’s deal was “one hell of a Father’s Day present” — referencing the notoriously devious House Lannister from Game of Thrones.
“Bradley Beal’s agent being the father of the Suns CEO – this feels like something the Lannisters would do,” he posted.
Over 18 NBA campaigns, Paul has averaged 17.9 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game.
The Suns had missed the NBA playoffs for 10 seasons in a row until Paul’s arrival but reached the 2021 NBA Finals, losing to Milwaukee, and the second round each of the past two seasons, falling first to Dallas and this year to eventual NBA champion Denver.
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