Clippers guard Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with a fracture in his hip and will undergo season-ending surgery, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
“We met with numerous doctors and specialists around the country in collaboration with the entire Clippers medical staff over the last few days, and came to the decision unanimously that the surgery will allow Brad to have a full and complete recovery,” agent Mark Bartelstein said in a statement to ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), who confirms Charania’s reporting, the projected recovery timetable for the procedure is six-to-nine months.
Beal had been hoping for a fresh start in Los Angeles this fall after two disappointing years in Phoenix. His time with the Suns came to an end over the summer when he and the team agreed to a buyout that left roughly $97MM in dead money on Phoenix’s cap.
The 32-year-old signed a two-year, $10.98MM deal with the Clippers with the expectation that he’d play a significant role in the rotation and help make up for the scoring the club lost when it traded Norman Powell to Miami in a three-team deal that sent John Collins to L.A.
However, Beal was able to suit up for just six games with his new team, averaging 8.2 points on .375/.368/.750 shooting in 20.2 minutes per contest. While those six games will be by far the fewest Beal has ever played in a single season, injuries have been a recurring problem for him in recent years — he hasn’t made more than 60 regular season appearances since 2018/19.
Beal’s season-ending surgery makes it more likely that he’ll opt into the second year of his contract with the Clippers. He holds a $5.62MM player option for 2026/27.
The Clippers will have the ability to apply for a disabled player exception in the wake of Beal’s injury, but it would only be worth about $2.68MM (half of Beal’s salary) and wouldn’t allow the team to surpass its hard cap. Currently, L.A. is carrying just 14 players on its standard roster and doesn’t have the ability to add a 15th man until January, at which point a prorated minimum salary will fit below the first tax apron.
With no reinforcements likely on the way in the short term, the Clippers will have to hope for more from veteran guards like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Chris Paul, who are off to slow starts this season. Additionally, Collins figures to be among the players who take on more offensive responsibilities to help James Harden and Kawhi Leonard (when healthy) shoulder the scoring load.
well damn….
Look at that: another robbery by Beal.
Dude just needs to retire at this point. He’s washed up
Bradley Bust.
Watch the Clippers sign Beasley with the injury exception they will apply for.
I believe the average age of their roster actually just went UP with this news.
Wow….Ant Davis belongs on the Clippers roster.
Well the comments about the suns organization he made last week have aged like milk.
Potato Chip body
Criminal the money this bum has stolen from teams.
I guess all of the pre-season Beal to Clippers = finals run predictions can be put to rest. This team is heading for the lottery.
John Wall and him are twins.
So how much better does this make the Clippers?
Yeah EVERYONE here are basketball fans ?????🤔🤔
You think he tore his own hip. Its 5 mill and its insured for injuries. So ain’t taking anything that isn’t owed. Money is ALL that’s on you mind. Learn to bounce a ball then you can teach your kids how to steal money from NBA ……….
Beal has no luck. I guess we know why he wasn’t really playing well. Serious hip problems will keep him from playing. So I hope its not caeer ending.
Clippers do need a replacement. Balmer deserves credit for taking chances on guys. Nice to have money lols. Besides looking into Beasley or Ben. What are their options in Clipper land ?? I say moving Lopez for a SG is viable option.
Brook Lopez >>>>> to Warriors can work.
Brook Lopez for Buddy Hield and a 2nd rd pick.
Helps both teams right away …. Win wIn
That Clippers pick that OKC holds has even looked more and more lottery bound at this point.
We’ve done a lot of laughing and roasting and yes now he’s cooked, but the whole thing is kind of sad. Talent is exciting to watch. Now its just gone. No celebrating that.