“Bradley Beal is actively exploring his options with other teams in anticipation of a Suns buyout… There will be considerable interest in Beal once he becomes an unrestricted free agent,” reported Marc Stein. After two underwhelming years in Phoenix, tensions between Beal and the Suns have hit a boiling point. With the no-trade clause handcuffing the franchise and his hefty $97 million price tag over the last two seasons not yielding results, a buyout seems inevitable. Once that happens, the entire league becomes fair game. And one of the early suitors? The Los Angeles Lakers. While that might sound exciting for fans, it could spell trouble for Austin Reaves, whose role would likely take a serious hit if Beal dons the purple and gold.

According to former ESPN LA and sports radio host Allen Sliwa, Bradley Beal could end up playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. The team wants to build around Luka Doncic and, as the host highlighted, “ready to move on from the LeBron James chapter”. Meanwhile, the Lakers do not want to make many long-term commitments as they look to keep their salary cap in check. An exception can be made if Beal ever becomes a Laker.

“I think the bigger question for Bradley Beal is, ‘Is the Lakers situation the best fit for him for the next couple of years? Is it the Lakers or is it some of these other teams?” said Sliwa. He added: “If I’m looking at this from a Laker perspective, just get talent. And Bradley Beal is still a 32-year-old wildly talented player that needs to find a role and needs to play with guys that play to his strengths. Clearly that wasn’t happening with the Phoenix Suns. They tried to go big three, and that big three just completely collapsed. Um, if you’re the Lakers and you could try to get Bradley Beal, you do it in a heartbeat, in my opinion. In my opinion, it’s not costing you anything. There is no risk in getting him.”

There is a caveat, though. Later in the episode of Hoops Talk with Allen Sliwa, the host himself pointed out a potential risk: Bradley Beal is a big personality. He won’t easily settle into just any role—he’ll likely expect to start and have a significant say in the team’s direction.

This led Sliwa to predict, “Um, maybe the Lakers want to start him and then give Austin Reaves an opportunity off the bench and basically tell Austin Reaves. I mean, I would say Beal’s a better defender than Austin Reaves. Um, his defensive stats weren’t terrible with the Phoenix Suns. Um, but uh, if you want to bring Austin Reeves off the bench and then Reaves kind of gets the, ‘Hey, now you get to go do your thing for the Lakers when there are some substitutions, whatever the case is, and then play just the best five when you’re closing out a game.’ Um, I think all that kind of comes into play”.

Having two prominent shooting guards could improve the Lakers’ offensive capabilities. Especially if LeBron James might end up exiting the team. However, having started in 171 of his 280 games with the Lakers, and in all 73 of his appearances in the 2024-25 season, the star might not be that enthusiastic to relinquish control. Especially since Beal averaged fewer points, rebounds, and assists than him, and even played in fewer games during the 2024-25 season.

Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard are two players who have reportedly been on the Lakers’ radar for the last few days. One has already been waived, one is expected to get a buyout, and either of them can majorly improve the Lakers’ offensive capabilities. However, Beal holds an advantage against Damian Lillard on several fronts.

For starters, there’s still no clear timeline for Damian Lillard’s recovery from his Achilles injury. On the other hand, Bradley Beal has a strong connection with Lakers assistant coach Scott Brooks, who coached him for five seasons in Washington. If any backcourt addition is likely, it’s Beal. And that means Austin Reaves may need to adjust his role accordingly.

We don’t know what adjustments will happen if Bradley Beal ends up joining the Lakers. What we do know is that if Nick Wright was in charge of the team, he would think twice before demoting Reaves.

Nick Wright took a victory lap after placing Austin Reaves over Bradley Beal two years ago: ‘I was called a madman’

After Bradley Beal was acquired by the Phoenix Suns back in 2023, Nick Wright was among the group of people who were against this move. On First Things First Wright declared, “Let me be very clear: I think if you’re trying to win a championship, I would rather have as my third guy Austin Reaves and the things he does, than Bradley Beal, if my top two guys are those guys.” Two years later, Wright’s words proved true, as the Suns have lost enough confidence in Beal to not even keep him despite a no-trade clause.

Back in March, Wright took his victory lap by stating, “I was called a madman when the Suns traded for Bradley Beal and I said this was dumb. There was a very viral video of me saying I would rather have Austin Reaves as a third option than Bradley Beal. I just said I thought what the Suns were doing, they were making a copy of a copy of a copy, and it got worse. What you shouldn’t do is pair Kevin Durant with a slightly worse version of Kevin Durant which is Devin Booker, and a much worse version of Devin Booker which is Bradley Beal”.

LeBron James and Luka Doncic are not Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Things might be different with the Lakers. However, if someone in the Lakers’ squad took Wright’s words seriously, then they wouldn’t make Bradley Beal a starter. The current Suns star could equally make a difference from the bench by boosting the 26.2 points per game that LA’s second unit averaged.

However, self-respect and ego could play a major role in shaping this decision. Rob Pelinka will need to make a move that resonates across the league—especially if Bradley Beal arrives with his money already secured via a buyout. Meanwhile, Austin Reaves will be entering the third year of his four-year, $53.8 million deal, earning $13.9 million in 2025-26. That’s especially notable considering Reaves previously turned down a four-year, $89.2 million extension, betting on himself to land a bigger payday in 2026 free agency.

Austin Reaves or Bradley Beal? Who would you place as the starting shooting guard? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.