The Golden State Warriors have already expressed interest in veteran Damian Lillard after his buyout with the Milwaukee Bucks, but the franchise may have to quickly turn its attention to another All-Star guard who could hit the free agency market.
Speculation of a potential Bradley Beal buyout has ramped up over the last week, and now appears to be a fait accompli in the coming days in what would be a major shakeup to the free agency landscape.
Bradley Beal is already exploring his free agency options
Beal still has two years and over $110 million left on his contract with the Suns, but there's evidently no team that's going to trade for the 3x All-Star at that number. Given just how turbulent things have been between Beal and Phoenix, there appears no other option than to waive-and-stretch his contract in line with what Milwaukee did earlier in the week with Lillard.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein on Sunday, Beal is already actively exploring his options following a buyout where he'll become an unrestricted free agent and undoubtedly have a number of possible suitors.
Bradley Beal is actively exploring his options with other teams in anticipation of a Suns buyout, league sources tell @TheSteinLine.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 7, 2025
There will be considerable interest in Beal once he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
More NBA from me earlier today: https://t.co/dUxPR8gyAU pic.twitter.com/Blp3L0qqpZ
Unlike with Lillard who's recovering from a torn ACL and likely won't play until after the All-Star break at the very earliest, Beal will be able to help a playoff-contending team right away and is also nearly three years younger.
This will likely make him more attractive to prospective teams, including a team like the Warriors who could do with more shot-creation and ball-handling beyond Stephen Curry and the recently acquired Jimmy Butler.
For all of Beal's issues in Phoenix, he still averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season, shooting an efficient 49.7% from the floor and 38.6% from 3-point range. That sort of production may not be valuable on a $50 million per year contract, but that changes drastically if we're talking about Beal on a minimum deal or close to it.
Things have been quiet on the free agency front for the Warriors, with Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office still trying to work out the future of young forward and restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
Even despite not making a single move to this point, there are still some valuable names left on the board. Golden State are expected to sign veteran center Al Horford, while Lillard and former Warrior De'Anthony Melton are also available.
Beal is now the next big-name player likely to hit the free agency market, with a watch also on Nikola Vucevic's future in Chicago and the host of veteran players currently on the Washington Wizards roster.