It hasn’t been the productive offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers that many fans were hoping for. The only big move the team made was signing Deandre Ayton, who should be a big upgrade at center.
However, that’s not enough to make the Lakers title contenders in 2025-26. This is a big reason why there’s been talk of LeBron James wanting a trade. It’s still early in the offseason, so there could be moves left to make.
The free agent options currently available won’t move the needle, but there are some big names who could get bought out or made available in a trade. The last two seasons have been a disaster for Bradley Beal.
He got traded to the Phoenix Suns and immediately started dealing with injury issues while also seeing a major dip in his scoring production. A Beal buyout seems inevitable for the Suns, which would make the former All-Star guard a free agent.
If the Lakers can bring him in for cheap, Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports believes they would be the easy championship favorites this season.
“When the Suns get rid of Bradley Beal, the Lakers can get him for $5 million. Bradley Beal is the missing piece. … You can just go ahead and get the parade ready for the Lakers if they get Bradley Beal,” McIntyre said on “The Herd.”
Does Beal Move the Needle That Much for Lakers?
While having Beal at $50 million a year is clearly not a sustainable way to win games, getting him at less than $10 million a season is very interesting. Even in his lackluster two years in Phoenix, he still averaged 17.6 points a game on 40.7% shooting from three.
Beal being the Lakers’ first player off the bench would give them a major scoring boost when Luka Doncic and James aren’t on the court. It might be a stretch to say that adding Beal would guarantee a championship for the Lakers, but it would certainly help fill one of their biggest holes.
The biggest concern is his ability to stay healthy. He missed a total of 58 games combined over the last two seasons, and players don’t typically get healthier as they get later in their 30s. A healthy Beal who is willing to come off the bench without issue might be enough to make the Lakers one of the title favorites, but there would still be some concerning question marks lingering over the team.
Lakers Face Competition for Beal
The Lakers are a great landing spot for Beal in theory, but they won’t be the only team interested in him. The guard will have plenty of suitors once he gets bought out.
NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer revealed five of the teams to watch in the Beal Sweepstakes.
“The Clippers, Lakers, Warriors, Timberwolves and, yes, Giannis’ Bucks are teams with a confirmed interest in signing Beal once he reaches the open market … with the Clippers widely regarded as a particularly strong contender to land the 33-year-old former All-Star,” Stein and Fischer wrote.
Beal is likely looking at a similar contract from each of these teams, so it will mostly come down to which team he thinks is the best fit.
