Clippers sign three-time All-Star Bradley Beal after Suns buyout

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers have signed three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal after the final two years of his contract were bought out by the Phoenix Suns earlier this week.

The team announced his signing on Friday. Beal agreed to an $11 million, two-year deal, his agent Mark Bartelstein told The Arizona Republic.

Beal averaged 17 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 32.1 minutes while starting 38 of 53 games for the Suns last season. Beal shot 50% from the floor, 39% from 3-point range and 80% from the foul line.

“He’s a great guy,” Suns owner Mat Ishbia told Sirius XM NBA Radio on Thursday. “Just not a fit with the Phoenix Suns going forward. We told him that. We made that decision. We let them know we wanted to move forward without him. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad player."

In Los Angeles, Beal joins a veteran Clippers roster led by Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. The 32-year-old guard will get a chance to move past his two disappointing, injury-riddled seasons in Phoenix.

“Players of this caliber are very rare, and they’re hard to come by,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said in a statement. “He's been the best player on his team. You can put him in so many different spots and he’ll find ways to score: out of pick-and-roll, coming off screens, catch-and-shoot. He can create his own or he can play off the ball. He’s a great cutter. He’s also a great playmaker who is going to make everybody else better.”

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