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Gambadoro: I believe that Miami was not that interested in Bradley Beal. Look at what Miami has in terms of assets. They have their first-round pick this year, they’ve got future first-round picks, and they’ve got more talent to trade. If Miami was really involved in this and Beal was interested in going there, there’s no way Miami couldn’t have put a better offer on the table than Phoenix. I’m going to stick with what I’ve been told, and that’s Miami wasn’t that interested in Beal. Now, Beal was interested in Phoenix. He wanted to come to the Suns and play with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Scotto: We saw the Brooklyn Nets holding onto Durant for a little bit into the season, and then they were able to get a much better offer than in the months prior. Was there any reason why you think there was this expedition of moving Beal so quickly with the draft coming up?
Gambadoro: I think the problem was if you waited until after July 1, the trade rules change drastically, so it reduces what can be included in a trade and a much different landscape from when Durant was traded.
Washington wanted off of Beal’s salary, and they wanted off of it badly. Beal misses a lot of games. He’s a terrific dynamic scorer and a three-time All-Star, but he misses a lot of games. Washington’s number one priority was to clear that salary. The fact that they weren’t able to get a quality return back as far as draft pick compensation and players is mind-boggling.
The Suns were going to waive Chris Paul. They weren’t going to keep Paul at $30 million. It was either waive and stretch him to create $27 million in salary for the cap or waive and re-sign him to the veteran’s minimum. Landry Shamet? They didn’t want Shamet. He was one of the few bad deals that James Jones made, adding Shamet at three years for $10 million-plus a year. The Suns were thrilled to get off those contracts. In the meantime, they get a soon-to-be 30-year-old three-time All-Star guard. Now, there’s not much they can do. They’re married to this team for a while.
Scotto: The Suns are going to light it up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve with Durant, Booker and Beal. I don’t know if there are enough basketballs to go around, but my understanding is Booker is going to be more or less the primary ball handler a lot of times. Beal can handle the ball too, and create in pick-and-rolls, but it seems like this is more of an avenue to get the ball in Booker’s hands and really maximize his usage rate.
Gambadoro: Both of those guys can handle the ball, and they’ll still have Cameron Payne, most likely… Chris Paul was slowing down. He wasn’t the same player. They played with a lot less tempo and pace when he was out there. If you remember the last game against the Denver Nuggets, Payne was their best player. They were pushing the ball and moving it forward with him. With Paul on the court, it was a very slow tempo and pace. His basketball IQ is second to none, and they’re going to miss that.
