Bradley Beal Thought He Was Being Traded for Devin Booker When Suns-Wizards Deal Emerged

The guard Bradley Beal thought his trade from Washington to Phoenix was going to wind up looking a whole lot different.

As the potential blockbuster trade that sent Bradley Beal to the Suns began to come together, the former Wizards guard thought it would look quite a bit different when all was said and done. 

The deal that sent shockwaves through the NBA included Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and multiple second-round picks going back to Washington in exchange for Beal.

But as Beal revealed during a recent interview with Deyscha Smith of SLAM, he initially wondered why Phoenix was trading Devin Booker—pointing to the belief that he thought the star guard was a part of the package.

When Beal first heard that the deal was in play, he had his own questions. “I was like, Why are they trading Book? Like there’s no way that this is happening,” Beal says. “Like, this can’t be, this isn’t right. But fast forward, he’s here, I’m here and Kevin’s here and DA [Deandre Ayton]’s here. It’s surreal and crazy to think about how the deal even came to fruition, but it’s done and I’m in an awesome situation where I can compete every single night for a chance to win.”

While Booker’s name was never mentioned in any potential trade packages, it shows that even Beal himself couldn’t believe the fact that the Suns were going to have a core with this many stars. Now, NBA fans wait with intrigue to see how the new-look Suns group featuring Beal, Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton will look during the 2023–24 season.