As the Clippers went deeper in their pursuit of veteran guard Bradley Beal, they got an assist from none other than James Harden.
Harden spent more than 30 minutes on the phone with Beal’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, detailing the reasons why the three-time All-Star should join the Clippers. Not only did the agent like what he heard, but so did Beal, who after being bought out by the Phoenix Suns, officially signed a two-year, $11 million deal Friday.
“There aren’t many players who, one, we’d be willing to do it, and two, who would spend the time talking to another agent to explain why the Clippers are the best place for Brad,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Saturday. “And it goes beyond that. A very important piece is the medical piece.”
Beal’s 13-year career has been beset by injuries, most recently a hamstring injury that sidelined him for three weeks at the end of last season. He had five other lower body injuries in the final five months of the 2024-25 season.
Frank said Bartelstein “spent hours” on the phone with Maggie Bryant, the team’s head of performance, health and wellness, as well as senior performance physical therapist Jesse Phillips, who worked with Beal when the two were with the Washington Wizards.
“So, he (Bartelstein) had a high level of comfort there,” Frank said. “I mean, it was, like I said, a short amount of time, but exhaustive. Mark and I would speak four or five times a day, but I think it was all the input from people like Steve (Ballmer, owner), (Coach) Tyronn Lue, James, Maggie, Jesse, and everyone else he spoke to.”
According to Frank, Beal did his own homework, talking to coaches and players around the league, before signing the deal with the Clippers that included a player option for the second year. There were multiple teams interested in landing Beal, who averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.6 steals last season.
“They (Beal and Bartelstein) wanted to make sure, because this decision couldn’t be wrong for Brad, it had to be right. And the same sort of scrutiny that they put our organization under; they did for the other teams as well.”
Frank called Beal a “gifted two-way player” who can score and create offense for himself and others, much like Norman Powell, whom the Clippers traded to Miami to get John Collins in a three-way deal. His play-making skills, combined with Harden’s ball-handling, could give the Clippers an intimidating backcourt.
“T-Lue can use him in a variety of ways. He’s elite in handoffs. He’s elite in throw-and-go situations, which we’ve been looking for some more movement shooting,” Frank said. “Plus, as you’ve seen over the course of his career, Brad can be very effective in coming off flares, pin downs, pick and rolls on the run, catch-and-shoot and playing off closeouts.”
Frank said he feels fortunate that Beal chose the Clippers over other teams like the Lakers. The team had attempted to land him twice previously.
“Brad had a number of choices, and we feel blessed that we’ve built an organization that’s now a destination organization. I think when people think about the Clippers, not only do they think about Steve Ballmer, the Intuit Dome, our market, T-Lue or our players, but they think about winning, which was really important to Brad. He wants to win.”
The Clippers are not done tinkering with the roster, though. They have two open spots and are leaning toward signing Chris Paul, who at 40 years old can still contribute to a team, Frank said.
The major hiccup there is that Paul, who wants to play closer to his family in Los Angeles, has said he wants to start but would likely be joining the Clippers in a reserve role behind Harden.
“Role awareness, especially in this next roster spot, will be critical,” Frank said. “I think the conversations that we have with anyone who is going to join the Clippers next – they understand it’s a reserve role. They understand going into camp exactly what it looks like. So, there are no preconceived misconceptions.”