PHOENIX — Bradley Beal said he didn’t know what the story would be. But the former Phoenix Suns guard knew there was one to tell after his return to Phoenix on Thursday.
As a key part of Phoenix’s painfully slow unraveling over the last two seasons, Beal’s first time speaking with the local media since agreeing to a buyout in mid-July and joining the Los Angeles Clippers was a healthy enough amount of time to reflect four months later on what went wrong.
Multiple times in the conversation, Beal did not want to go into particulars or details on the behind-the scenes-happenings, whether that was during the team’s struggles in the regular season or his own future being decided.
He has thought back on it but speaks like a guy who already moved on a while ago and is also aware of how spectacularly he, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant failed to meet expectations.
“You reflect for sure,” he said. “Everybody did their ‘what if’s’ but you can’t live in the past, you can’t live in those moments. Obviously, we could have had something special, but it didn’t happen. Didn’t work, and we all moved on.
“It’s probably gonna be a big ‘what if?’ story forever but at the end of the day, everybody has a story, everything happens for a reason and I’m excited with where I am and I’m sure Book’s excited for his team and I’m sure K is excited for his situation. It is what it is. Can’t be upset about it, can’t be mad about it. As a fan, I’m sure you’re mad and upset. Internally, I’m sure we are too. We had high goals and expectations too. Chips fall where they do sometimes.”
Beal in Thursday’s 115-102 Suns win over the Clippers did not have the type of evening he would hope for, to say the least. On top of still dealing with an injury he said dates back to his time in Phoenix that has him on a minutes restriction, he shot 2-of-14, showing unusually poor touch despite creating good looks for himself off the dribble. It was one of the worst games he’s played in the building.
The concept of a “revenge game” is often revisited for contests like this. But Beal denied this was one of those.
“It was another game,” Beal said. “I think y’all probably gonna blast it a little bit more than I am. It was another game, another basketball game.”
Beal was booed throughout the night. A healthy section of Suns fans put him the most at fault for the disaster, or at least feel the most vehemently toward him for how it all unfolded. He was booed for the brief “welcome back” message and greeting, for his starting lineup introduction and whenever he touched the ball.
It did not seem to get to him on a night he had to be aggressive when his team was without James Harden and Kawhi Leonard.
“You got fans that didn’t like me here, you got fans that liked I was here,” Beal said. “You can’t please everybody. I found that out at a very young age. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to make everybody happy. I’ve enjoyed my time here, I enjoyed playing for this organization. They made a decision, you move on. Is what it is. Don’t have any hard feelings. People are gonna boo. It’s part of the game, it’s part of being a fan.”
Beal accepts that, and at the same time, ultimately values far more what his teammates think of him, and they all had good things to say about him at the end of the season and leading up to Thursday.
“That’s a testament to my time here, is how my teammates talk about me,” Beal said. “If you ask them, I think their answer will be a little bit different than a boo.”
Beal again didn’t want to talk about specifics, like the hellacious news cycle he found himself entrenched in from December onward that included him moving to the bench and Phoenix attempting to trade him.
He did, however, multiple times refer to the Suns asking him to go, indicating this was not ultimately his decision.
“I think if everybody kind of puts themselves in Brad’s shoes from the day I got here util the day I was asked to leave, I think it would be a little more grace in all that,” Beal said. “Nobody knows what exactly happens internally here. We leave that at that and we keep moving forward. Not going to harp on it. I had two good years here (and) I have no ill will or wish any bad to this organization at all.”
As Beal spends yet another season focused primarily on his health and getting back to 100%, he miraculously remains optimistic despite all the roadblocks in front of him on the path to getting back to being one of the best guards in basketball like he was a few years ago.
Whether or not he reaches that destination again at the age of 32, or if it keeps trending in the other direction of us currently watching his final chapters as a player, makes it necessary for him to stay armed with that mindset.
It begins, as always, with the next game. That’s on Saturday, against Phoenix once more.
“We wouldn’t be pros if we couldn’t be mentally tough enough to move onto the next game. … It happens, man. … It’s how you bounce back and how you respond to that that is a testament to your character and who you are as a player,” Beal said.
“See you Saturday.”