Why the Clippers are counting on a Bradley Beal bounce-back after Phoenix stint

After the Denver Nuggets eliminated the LA Clippers in Game 7 of the 2025 Western Conference quarterfinals, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank outlined three areas where the team needed help: the front court, shooting and ball handling.

The Clippers opened free agency by signing center Brook Lopez, one of the best 3-point-shooting shot blockers in league history. A week later, the Clippers traded shooting guard Norman Powell to the Miami Heat in a three-team trade that landed Utah Jazz power forward John Collins in LA. And in a move to backfill the starting spot that Powell vacated, the Clippers signed former Phoenix Suns shooting guard Bradley Beal to a two-year contract after Beal was waived by the Suns following a buyout agreement this week.

Now, Frank believes the Clippers have what it takes to win a playoff series for the first time in five years, at the very least. And at the very most, Frank believes the Clippers have a chance to do something special in 2026.

“Brad had a number of choices, and we feel blessed that we built an organization that’s now a destination organization,” Frank said Saturday, one day after officially signing Beal, a player the Clippers tried to acquire twice in the past.

“In the last 14 years, we’ve won the second-most games in the NBA,” Frank said. “Obviously, we haven’t won championships, which is always the goal. But one of the biggest things for Brad was the opportunity to win and to win big. And we feel very fortunate that he chose to be a Clipper.”

Beal has a player option in 2026. Among the ten Clippers expected to have a role in the rotation, Collins will be a free agent, and five have player or team options that could make them free agents after the 2025-26 season (Beal, Lopez, James Harden, Bogdan Bogdanović, Nicolas Batum). Three more Clippers can be free agents in 2027 (Kawhi Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn). Only starting center Ivica Zubac, a 2028 free agent, is signed beyond 2027.

“We just wanted to put together the best roster we could while preserving the financial flexibility, which includes a path to max space if we choose to go that route,” Frank said Saturday.

Real Deal Beal is a Clipper ⭐️⭐️⭐️ pic.twitter.com/lQsQ0XD3fk

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) July 18, 2025

Beal, 32, is a three-time All-Star (2018, 2019, 2021) and was an All-NBA third team selection in 2021, when he averaged a career-best 31.3 points per game for the Washington Wizards. Beal first became an All-Star during the 2017-2018 season and peaked in 2021, his lone season with point guard Russell Westbrook in Washington’s most recent playoff appearance. But Beal hasn’t been an All-Star in the last four seasons or been a part of a postseason win while missing an average of 33 games per year over that time.

The third pick of the 2012 NBA Draft out of Florida by the Wizards, Beal’s last two seasons with the franchise saw his scoring drop to 23.2 points per game while sharing the backcourt with point guards Spencer Dinwiddie in 2021-22 and Monte Morris in 2022-23. Beal signed a five-year, $251 million contract to stay with the Wizards in 2022, a deal that included a no-trade clause.

That contract sent Washington into a rebuild that commenced when the Wizards hired former Clippers general manager Michael Winger in 2023 as team president. Winger’s front office oversaw the end of Beal’s 11-year tenure with the franchise. Beal was traded to Phoenix in a package that included Chris Paul and multiple first round pick swaps.

Beal’s scoring average dropped to 18.2 points per game in 2023-24, a season in which the Suns canceled traditional point guards, instead running the offense through Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Beal. Phoenix won 49 games in 2023-24, but they were outscored by 195 points in fourth quarters, 100 more than any other team in the league. They were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024 Western Conference quarterfinals.

In the 2024 offseason, Mike Budenholzer replaced Frank Vogel as Suns head coach, while the Suns signed traditional point guards Tyus Jones and Morris in free agency. Beal’s second season in the valley was even more forgettable than his first, as his scoring average dropped to a 10-year low 17.0 points per game while dealing with injuries, a move to Budenholzer’s second unit, and an unideal roster that saw the Suns finish 27th in defensive efficiency and miss the playoffs despite having one of the best shooting teams and the highest payroll in the league.

The Suns couldn’t move Beal because of his no-trade clause. Now, he follows former Wizards teammates Wall and Westbrook in joining a Clippers team that has feasted on the buyout market in the 2020s.

“James spent over 30 minutes on the phone with (Beal’s agent) Mark Bartelstein,” Frank said Saturday. “There aren’t many players who, one, would be willing to do it; and two, who would spend the time talking to another agent to explain why the Clippers are the best place for Brad.”

Beal is the most critical addition for a Clippers offense that showed a low floor and a high ceiling last season. Before Kawhi Leonard made his season debut on January 4, the Clippers ranked 23rd in the NBA in offensive efficiency. In the first two months with Leonard, the Clippers ranked only 18th in offensive efficiency while going 13-14 between January 4 and March 4. The Clippers finished the regular season 18-3 with the league’s best offense, and only the Cleveland Cavaliers were better offensively than the Clippers in the 2025 postseason.

But the Clippers ranked 23rd in turnover percentage last season, while only Trae Young and Cade Cunningham averaged more turnovers per game than Harden. The Clippers often had to tether Dunn to Harden in the starting lineup to relieve Harden of defensive pressure, a responsibility that Powell was not well suited to help solve due to Powell’s relatively deficient ball handling and playmaking abilities. In the regular season, that arrangement was adequate, as Dunn’s stellar defense was crucial to the Clippers all season while Powell focused on shotmaking.

As the series with the Nuggets progressed, Denver took advantage of Dunn’s unsteady shooting, which eventually led to Dunn’s removal from the starting lineup in Game 7 in place of Jones. Harden grew frustrated with the spacing challenges the Clippers had in the playoffs. Beal’s ability to shoot wasn’t quite at the high level that Powell established last season, but Beal is a good shooter.

Most importantly for the fit with the Clippers, Beal is a much better ball handler and playmaker than the departed Powell. Beal averaged an 8-year-low 3.7 assists per game last season, which was still more assists than the career-best 2.1 per game that Powell averaged last season. Beal also averaged an 11-year low 1.9 turnovers per game, compared to Powell’s 1.8 turnovers per game.

Beal is going from a Suns offense that was heavy on ball movement, pick-and-rolls and player movement to an isolation-heavy Clippers offense that annually ranks near the bottom in passes per game. But Beal’s on-ball utility should allow Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue to pair Beal with Harden in LA’s starting backcourt while starting a bigger player in the frontcourt than Dunn, whether that is Jones or Collins.

“Players of this caliber are very rare, and they’re hard to come by,” said Lue, a Missouri native like Beal. “Brad has been an All-Star. He’s been in a race for the scoring title. He’s been the best player on his team. You can put him in so many different spots and he’ll find ways to score: out of pick-and-roll, coming off screens, catch-and-shoot. He can create his own, or he can play off the ball. He’s a great cutter. He’s also a great playmaker who is going to make everybody else better. I’m excited he’s with us.”

The Clippers got a great scoring year out of Powell, one that they likely couldn’t expect to duplicate with Leonard playing a full complement of games. Of Powell’s 10 30-point games last season, only one came with Leonard; all of them came with Harden. Powell scored 18.2 points per game in the 27 regular-season games he played with Harden and Leonard and only 16.0 points in the playoffs against the Nuggets.

Beal is an efficient play finisher, making 49.7 percent of his field goals last season and 38.6 percent of his 3s, but his prowess as a scorer has declined. Beal had only one 30-point game all season last year, and it came in a blowout loss at Toronto with both Booker and Durant playing. In 37 games with Booker and Durant playing, Beal averaged only 15.8 points per game last season. In 16 games last season with one of Booker or Durant out, Beal averaged 19.9 points per game but did not reach the 30-point mark once. In comparison, Powell averaged 24.8 points per game in the 33 games he played with one of Harden or Leonard out, reaching the 30-point mark in 27.2 percent of those games. Beal only reached 30 points in a game seven times in 110 games with the Suns, including none in four playoff games.

The biggest drop-off for Beal as a scorer, especially compared to Powell, is in his free-throw attempts. While Powell averaged 4.4 free throw attempts per game last season, Beal averaged only 2.6 free throw attempts per game in two seasons in Phoenix. And while Beal averaged an eight-year low 61.0 touches per game last season, according to Second Spectrum, Powell averaged only 42.8 touches per game last season with the Clippers, including only 33.3 touches per game after the All-Star break. Beal should expect more touches than Powell got last season, but Beal likely will be hard pressed to match his touch volume from last season while going from Booker and Durant and underwhelming interior and bench options in Phoenix to Harden and Leonard and multiple interior and bench options in LA.

“Not to take any sort of slight at Phoenix, but playing with James is a whole lot different than what their situation was,” Frank said Saturday. “Brad had great success playing with John Wall. He actually had great success playing with Russ.”

The other on-court concern with Beal is how to handle his defensive assignments. Beal is listed at 6-foot-4, like Powell, though Powell is a little bigger at 215 pounds with a 6-foot-10 wingspan; Beal is 207 pounds with a 6-foot-8 wingspan. The Clippers were able to hide Powell defensively last season, with Harden taking on power forwards, Zubac on centers, Dunn and Jones at the point of attack, and Leonard and Jones taking the top wing options. Phoenix had to hide Tyus Jones, so Beal was often at the point of attack.

The Clippers are best served keeping Beal out of that role, as he struggles mightily to defend on-ball screens. Beal is better defending in isolation, and while Powell averaged 1.2 steals per game, Beal was close at 1.1 steals per game. Neither Powell (3.2 rebounds) nor Beal (3.3 rebounds) are good rebounders, while Beal was much more likely to foul last season. The Clippers may need to decide between a starting lineup with Beal and Harden on the perimeter if Collins starts, or a smaller starting lineup with Harden and Leonard guarding fours if they go with what worked last season.

“Rod Thorn, who was my boss in New Jersey for 10 years, was with the Washington Wizards when Brad was there, and Rod said, ‘Brad Beal is one of the best two-way players in the game,’ when he was with him,” said Frank, who also referred to Beal as a “two-way player” in a statement provided by the team Friday.

“It’s like, we all have access to the same data, we have access to all the same games,” he added later. “But it’s also to see what’s inside a guy, what’s inside his heart, what’s inside his head. What does it look like in our defensive system? And so what I said is what I meant. I do think Brad’s a two-way player. Because I think he is capable of doing it. Even if you go back to their playoff series in his first year (in Phoenix), I mean, he was picking up Anthony Edwards full court. But I think with our defensive personnel and the different combinations that T. Lue has the ability to use, I think we’ll get the best out of Brad Beal. On both ends.”

Ultimately, Beal’s addition will come down to health. Powell missed 22 games a season over the last four years, and he only played in 60 games last year. Beal hasn’t played 60 games in a season since 2021. In 2021-22, his season ended prematurely due to left wrist surgery. In 2022-23, Beal missed games due to thigh, hamstring, foot and knee injuries. Beal’s first season in Phoenix was sidetracked by back, ankle, and hamstring woes. Last season, Beal dealt with elbow, calf, ankle, knee, toe and hamstring injuries.

Beal’s durability concerns, along with the age and injury history of Harden and Leonard, make the Clippers’ depth pivotal to sustaining regular-season success. Perhaps another addition could bolster that depth, as there is still room for LA to add a point guard. Whether that player is future Hall of Famer and Clippers legend Chris Paul bears watching.

“What I’ll say about Chris is, he’s a great player, he’s a great Clipper,” Frank said when asked directly if the Clippers will sign Paul. “And, of course, we’re strongly, strongly considering him.”

The Clippers have essentially replaced Ben Simmons with Brook Lopez, Amir Coffey with John Collins, Drew Eubanks with rookie first-round pick Yanic Konan Niederhäuser, two-way contract Seth Lundy with rookie second-round pick Kobe Sanders and Norman Powell with Bradley Beal. There is shooting ability in places the Clippers didn’t have last season, frontcourt size that the Clippers didn’t have last season and more optimal ball handling. It’s up to the incumbent Clippers, led by Lue, Harden, Leonard and Zubac, to help make the new pieces work starting in three months.

“I think we’re going to lean into the experiences,” Frank said Saturday. “You know, Brook’s obviously won a championship. He’s been battle-tested. John’s been to the Eastern Conference Finals. Brad is super thirsty, hungry. So, a talented guy with that sort of motivation and chip on his shoulder. And we’ll just continue to add the best people possible regardless of age.”

(Photo: Tyler McFarland / Clarkson Creative / Getty Images)