Bradley Beal addresses Suns commerce rumors: ‘I maintain the playing cards’

Bradley Beal made the a lot of the unfamiliar position of substitute for the Phoenix Suns. That does not imply he needed to prefer it.

Beal got here off the bench for the primary time in 9 years on Monday night time and scored a team-high 25 factors because the Suns snapped a four-game dropping streak with a 109-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Beal scored 20 factors within the second half as Phoenix overcame an early 12-point deficit and gained for simply the second time in 9 video games.

After the sport, the 31-year-old Beal mentioned he accepted coach Mike Budenholzer’s lineup change, however made it clear he considers himself a starter within the NBA.

“Coach made his choice. Stay with it,” the three-time All-Star mentioned in a postgame interview with AZCentral.com. “It is form of twofold. I am a starter within the league. I firmly imagine that. No disrespect to anyone, however I am a starter. … Coach decided. I am not going to sit down there and argue with him. I am not going to sit down right here and be a distraction.”

Beal final got here off the bench in the course of the 2015-16 season whereas getting back from an damage with the Washington Wizards.

Budenholzer additionally moved Jusuf Nurkic, who was getting back from a three-game suspension for his position in a battle towards Dallas, right into a reserve position and mentioned earlier than the sport each gamers dealt with the information effectively.

“I really feel like we would have liked to make a change,” Budenholzer mentioned. “All through a 48-minute sport, you bought to determine your greatest mixtures, your greatest methods to attempt to have success. They’re two essential gamers to us, two excellent gamers for us. We simply felt like we would have liked to make a change.

“They’re execs. I talked to every of them individually. They need what’s greatest for the group. I’ve plenty of respect for them and an appreciation for them.”

Beal and Nurkic (5 factors, seven rebounds) gave the Suns’ bench an enormous increase because the Phoenix reserves outscored Philadelphia’s bench 54-7.

“What he was capable of do tonight actually put us in an incredible spot, made a bunch of performs for himself, bunch of performs for his teammates,” Budenholzer mentioned of Beal. “He is been a professional. He was there for us tonight in a giant approach.”

Whereas he was there for the Suns on Monday, Beal was requested whether or not he believed the lineup transfer had something to do with commerce hypothesis.

“If that’s the case, I should be addressed as a result of I maintain the playing cards,” mentioned Beal, who has a no-trade clause in his contract. “Till I’m addressed and someone says one thing in another way, I will be a Solar.”

Reporting by The Related Press.

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