Bradley Beal and Frank Vogel insisted after a heated exchange during Game 2 of the Suns’ playoff series against the Timberwolves that there weren’t issues between the two.
Another incident from Game 4 of the Timberwolves’ sweep over the Suns raises doubts about their relationship and the direction of a franchise that entered the season with championship expectations.
As Beal was subbed out during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss, Vogel reached out to slap hands with Beal, but the guard appeared to brush his coach’s hand away with a backhand before slapping hands with his teammates normally on the bench.
Tension would be no surprise within a team that got swept in the first round after having the fourth-best championship odds before the season began thanks to the addition of Beal, the longtime Wizards centerpiece who is a three-time All-Star.
But he and Vogel downplayed the Game 2 exchange, which happened during a fourth-quarter timeout.
“It was not between us two,” Beal told reporters at the time. “It was just kind of like what was going on in the game. Refs. Our flow. Our defense was bad and I’m like, ‘What are we doing?’ We’re good.”
Beal, 30, struggled in that Game 2 loss, shooting 6-for-17 with 14 points and four turnovers.
The Suns traded their floor general, 38-year-old Chris Paul, in the summer to acquire Beal.
Beal was tabbed to be Phoenix’s starting point guard, but, as noted by The Athletic, neither he nor Devin Booker felt comfortable in that role throughout the season.
Making matters worse, Kevin Durant was unhappy about his role.
How the Suns fix this is unclear. Teams tend to make coaches the scapegoat, but Vogel just finished the first season of a five-year, $31 million contract.
In this player empowerment era, however, anything is possible, and players seemed surprised when Vogel, according to The Athletic, ripped into his team after a loss to the Clippers on April 9 in which they trailed 35-4 at one point.
The Athletic said players “weren’t buying” Vogel’s tirade, which was described as “forced and out of character.”
Players rolled their eyes when Vogel continued to lambast the team the next morning, with one player telling The Athletic he had to stop himself from laughing.
The Timberwolves social media team got in on the fun and trolled Beal off of a Bleacher Report post on X.
The post highlighted a quote from Beal about never being swept and “I’ll be damned if that happens.”
“First time for everything,” the Timberwolves’ account responded Sunday night.
Phoenix went 49-33 during the regular season and finished sixth in the Western Conference.
