Having lost four games in a row, the Phoenix Suns had to make a decision. Mike Budenholzer decided to be courageous and experiment. He sent Bradley Beal to the bench, a move to bring something different to the starting lineup. And against the Philadelphia 76ers, the team snapped their losing streak. Still, the decision has been conflicting. Some feel it worked great with Beal leading the second unit. Others feel it’s a way the Suns compel the 31-year-old to waive his no-trade clause.

Swimming in trade talks since Jimmy Butler’s public feud with the Heat, Beal holds a unique card in his hand. The clause in his contract allows him to reject trades. Hence, Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman feels the Suns moved him to the bench to push him to the brink of doing just that.

“I do think what’s happening in PHX now is worth keeping an eye on—There are, I know for a fact, 3 & 4-way combinations in play with Beal…What’s a good way to have a player want to waive his NTC?? Bench him for a player he clearly doesn’t believe is better than him,” said Winderman.

The Run It Back crew on the other hand believes the decision worked wonders. In particular, Lou Williams credited “quality” Coach Bud for the brave decision that fueled the Suns’ win. And as for Beal’s impact, he felt it got balance.

“One thing that stood out to me is the shot attempts. With the ‘Big 3’ you got 14 shots, 15 shots, 16 shots. And now you have a balance of your offense with Brad coming off the bench. It looked like this is going to work moving forward and you got to give Coach Bud some credit here… Bradley Beal went out there and he just championed that second group. He was the guy we thought he was and I know that he doesn’t love it,” Williams noted.

Bradley Beal might remain on the bench but for the right reasons

In spite of Winderman’s take on the decision to bench Beal, no signs suggested the franchise trying to take him out. Against the Sixers, he still played nearly 30 minutes, the third most on the team. In addition, Budenholzer revealed having a prior conversation about the decision with the former Wizards mainstay indicating the two met on the same page.

Tonight, even after initially going down, the Suns were able to recover due to the dynamic shift within the lineup. Bradley Beal scoring a team-high 25 points and grabbing five assists signaled the first signs of success. Hence, Parsons feels it might “stick” but not because of Beal’s abilities.

“Bradley Beal was unbelievable and of course, I think this is going to at least stick for now. Do I think Bradley Beal is a bench player for the rest of his career or if he happens to get traded is he going to? I think he’s a starter on any team besides OKC, Boston, Cleveland. Teams that are rolling that aren’t changing anything. Outside of that Bradley Beal is a bona fide starter,” he said on Run It Back.

A career as glittering as Beal’s proves his viability as a starter. But for Phoenix, they required their bench to be effective once the starting lineups rests. With Bradley Beal, there is an order that follows him. He was a +14 for the night, the highest on the team and ensured the Suns’ bench prevails over the 76ers.

With such results, it doesn’t seem the Suns will back off from their schemes. At the same time, it doesn’t seem to be a mechanism made to sway the 31 year old away.