PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns star guard Bradley Beal is no longer the only player in the NBA with a no-trade clause.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Today, LeBron James agreed to a two-year, $104 million max deal that included a no-trade clause to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to ESPSN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
James joins Phoenix’s Bradley Beal as one of the two league players with no-trade clauses.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2024
This no-trade clause means James and Beal can veto any trade they are a part of. Beal maintained his no-trade clause even when he approved a trade from the Washington Wizards to the Suns last June.
The NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement explains how a player qualifies for a no-trade clause:
“A Player Contract entered into by a player who has eight (8) or more Years of Service in the NBA and who has rendered four (4) or more Years of Service for the Team entering into such Contract may contain a prohibition or limitation of such Team’s right to trade such Contract to another NBA Team.”
James and Beal are a part of a very exclusive group of only 10 previous NBA players to get a no-trade clause in their contracts:
- David Robinson with the San Antonio Spurs
- John Stockton with the Utah Jazz
- Kobe Bryant with the Lakers
- Tim Duncan with the San Antonio Spurs
- Kevin Garnett with the Minnesota Timberwolves
- Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
- Dwyane Wade, Heat
- James with the Cleveland Cavaliers
- Carmelo Anthony with the New York Knicks
- Bradley Beal with the Washington Wizards
- James with the Lakers
James becomes the first player in NBA history to have a no-trade clause on two different contracts.
A lot of Wizards fans did not agree when Beal was given his no-trade clause on his five-year, $251 million maximum extension signed on July 6, 2022. Every single other past player who has been given a no-trade clause is in the Hall of Fame, other than Carmelo Anthony, who has a 98.42% chance to get into it, according to Basketball Reference’s Hall of Fame Probability metric. James has a 100% chance to get in the Hall of Fame by this metric, while Beal only has a 2.26% chance.
The Suns traded Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, their second-round picks in 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2030; first-round pick swaps in 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030 for Beal, Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd last summer. None of these players still are on the team they were traded to, other than Beal, who averaged 18.2 points per game on .513/.430/.813 shooting splits, 5.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds across 53 contests in his first season with Phoenix.
Beal will be making $50.2 million in the upcoming season and has three years and $161 million remaining on his contract, including a player option for the 2026-27 season.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
