“It’s kind of two-fold. I’m a star in the league, but I firmly believe that no disrespect to anybody, but I’m a starter and that’s what I firmly believe” said Bradley Beal after reacting to the lineup change that personally affected him. NBA reporter Chris Haynes gave Suns fans a jolt back in early January after revealing that the Suns will remove Beal from his starter role, alongside Jusuf Nurkic. The decision to replace the players with rookies Ryan Dunn and Mason Plumlee must have come as a low blow to the veterans. Despite this, Beal admitted that he will not be a trouble for the coach, and will abide by the change. He touched base on why he chose to do so after recently returning to his old position.

The recent Suns-Bulls matchup saw Bradley Beal starting instead of Tyus Jones at the United Center. This marked his return to the starting five for the first time since January 4. Before that, Jones had started all 54 games in which he played during the ongoing season. When recalling the conversation where Mike Budenholzer told him he would be starting, Beal revealed that it was “Just simple dialogue. He was just telling me he appreciated how I’ve handled everything”.

Beal sympathized with the decision the head coach had to take since it “Definitely wasn’t the easiest thing. I definitely feel for Coach too because it’s not easy trying to figure out where the energy is coming from and how you can put some lineups together. So, I mean, that’s what he’s doing in search, and trying to get guys to show consistency and show that fight. So, he’s doing what he can to give us a push”. In the end, the player revealed respecting any decision the head coach makes vis-a-vis the lineup.

The decision to sideline Bradley Beal to a bench role came after it became apparent that the player’s performance had declined. During the 2023-24 season, Beal’s 18.2 points average was his lowest recorded since the 2015-16 season. Now, Beal is recording even lower than that. His average scoring over the season’s first 23 games had been just 17.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. Along with that, Beal had also been dealing with a hip injury. Now, 39 games later, the situation hasn’t improved too much for the player. His average score today lies at 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.

Despite this lack of improvement, Budenholzer still chose to give Beal a chance. Why? Because Beal’s numbers were not up to the mark, but neither were the Phoenix Suns squad’s.

Mike Budenholzer revealed moving Bradley Beal to “figure out the best combinations”

Before the Chicago Bulls matchup, the Phoenix Suns had lost 7 of its 8 matchups. As a result, the Suns now hold the 11 seed on the Western Conference chart. A limited number of games in the regular season means the squad has limited opportunities to secure a playoff-contending seed. With the trade deadline having passed, no other players can be swapped from other teams to make the current roster better. Therefore, the only thing the head coach can do is to experiment with the starting lineups and see what sticks. If he hadn’t done so, then Beal may not have gotten a chance.

“We’re always kind of looking and trying to figure out the best combinations, the best groups. We keep trying and we keep mixing it up. Sometimes there’s injuries, but he’s been good” said Budenholzer about Bradley Beal. “We wanted to try it and look at it and feel that’s going to give us our best chance and he responded well. He’s been really great for a while now.”

Bradley Beal scored 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists against Lonzo Ball and Co. It was the same number of points that the player had dropped in 2 of these recent 3 matchups. Through the change, Budenholzer took a chance, and it paid off. Now, it remains to be seen what else the head coach will do to ensure the Phoenix Suns squad continues to stay competitive.