During the Phoenix Suns’ terrible season, there have been many rumors that Bradley Beal will be traded. When Beal asked for a trade, the Miami Heat—who are also dealing with drama surrounding Jimmy Butler—were linked to him.
On Wednesday, three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner Lou Williams spoke about another potential landing spot for Beal. According to him, the Los Angeles Lakers could be the perfect fit for the three-time All-Star. There have been various reports the Lakers are looking to acquire a third star to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
With the experience of the former Washington Wizards, putting him behind James and Davis can provide a scoring punch for Los Angeles.
“The Lakers, they need a dynamic scorer,” Williams said. “They need somebody that’s gonna go out there and — you know for a fact — they can give you 25 to 30 points a night if it’s needed.
Bradley Beal will (most likely) be traded…@TeamLou23 says he’s the dynamic scorer the Lakers need because he won’t defer to LeBron or AD 👀
Meanwhile, @chandlerparsons thinks pairing Beal with Jokic and Jamal Murray would keep the Nuggets’ championship window wide open🏆 pic.twitter.com/N56yGaUmvz
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 8, 2025
Austin Reaves is currently the Purple & Gold’s third option, according to Williams. He isn’t as reliable as a well-known celebrity like Beal, though.
“Austin Reaves has been that guy but where is it consistently? When you play with a LeBron James, you play with an AD, sometimes when you’re a young guy in this league, you’ll kinda take a backseat to those guys… Bradley Beal is different.
“He’s been the type A guy to be on a team where you can put the ball in his hands and he can go lead you to a bunch of wins. I don’t think he would be the guy to defer to an AD or LeBron when it’s needed.”
Beal has built a reputation as an elite scorer since his playing days with the Wizards. However, he’s regressed since joining the Suns. In his two seasons playing with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, the shooting guard is averaging 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
Former Lakers guard could make a return
Jovan Buha of The Athletic claims the Lakers are still dissatisfied with their current squad. This came after they traded D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.
However, one former player for the organization could reunite with the team in a potential trade. According to Sports Illustrated’s Gabe Smallson, Los Angeles could form a package to trade for Utah Jazz’ Jordan Clarkson and Walker Kessler.
Trading for Clarkson addresses their scoring needs as he averages 16.0 points as the team’s sixth man. In the package formed by Smallson, the Lakers can acquire Walker Kessler to allow Davis to play the power forward position.
LA will give up Jalen Hood-Schifino, Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, a 2027 first-round pick protections removed, a 2029 first-round draft pick, and a 2025 second-round draft pick.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
