The Suns are struggling. They have lost their last four games and dropped to the twelfth spot in the West standings. Sure enough, their ongoing struggles have urged Mike Budenholzer to make a massive change in the rotation for tonight’s Sixers encounter. Demoting Bradley Beal from the starting lineup and making him come off the bench for the first time in his Suns tenure! However, that move has backfired miserably.

Turns out, Beal had no problem adjusting to the change and was the best Suns player on the floor tonight despite losing his starting spot. In the first three quarters, he tallied 19 points and was the highest scorer on his team. He even drained three deep range shots. However, that did not help the Suns gain much of an advantage and they ended the quarter leading by only five points.

A major reason was Devin Booker struggling to get the ball in the basket. He only had two points at halftime and went one of ten from the field. Even heading into the final quarter, Book was stuck in single digits with 8 points. That’s why Budenholzer benched him toward the end of the third quarter and put Beal back on the floor with Kevin Durant, which helped them finish the quarter with a lead.

Apart from benching Beal, Budenholzer also replaced Jusuf Nurkic with Mason Plumlee in the starting lineup. And Plumlee also struggled as a starter, finishing with only two points. Meanwhile, Nurkic scored five points and seven rebounds.

Fortunately, despite the move backfiring initially, the game ended in the Suns’ favor as they blew the Sixers out by ten points. And the win snapped their four-game losing streak, all thanks to Beal’s 25-point performance. Obviously, this scoring outburst will boost Beal’s market value as trade rumors continue to escalate.

Bradley Beal could waive his No-Trade clause as new suitors emerge

Although Beal performed great tonight, the Suns are nowhere close to what was expected of them when the season began. It’s safe to say that the Big Three experiment has failed. That’s why the Suns are reportedly looking to trade Beal and potentially acquire another superstar or some key assets to improve. Of course, Jimmy Butler has been on their radar, especially after he demanded a trade from Miami. But new suitors seem to have joined the pursuit.

For a trade to happen, Beal will have to agree to it and waive his no-trade clause. And as per veteran analyst John Gambadoro, he would do it for Miami, LA, and Denver. Yes, the Lakers and Nuggets are now being considered as potential destinations for Beal. Obviously, Rob Pelinka is looking for a star to pair alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. And Beal is a solid option, with his scoring ability and versatility. Same goes for him moving to Denver to join forces with Nikola Jokic.

However, the moves will be difficult to pull off because of Beal’s $50.2 million salary and the said teams’ tax restrictions. A successful trade would likely require a three-team deal. So, it will be interesting to see what Beal decides before the February deadline. What are your thoughts?