After the Phoenix Suns were disappointingly swept out of the playoffs in the first round, veteran guard Bradley Beal addressed a nagging injury.
Per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic, Beal “had a procedure done on his nose” shortly after the Suns’ season came to an end.
Beal had been dealing with issues with his nose since it was broken when he took an elbow to the face from Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner during a game on Jan. 26. He wore a mask for multiple games before getting rid of it in March after he returned from a hamstring injury despite still needing to have his septum realigned. He said that month that he was playing through discomfort and he intended to wait until after the season to get surgery.
“Still have a little trouble breathing out of my right nostril, but I’m good for the most part,” Beal said after a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 3. “It doesn’t hurt. I’ll get my plastic surgery in the offseason.”
In his first season in Phoenix after being traded from the Washington Wizards, Beal appeared in 53 games and averaged 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists. While it was his lowest scoring average since 2015-16, he shot 51.3 percent from the field and 43.0 percent from three-point range.
Unfortunately, Beal’s partnership with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker wasn’t as effective as the Suns hoped, as the Minnesota Timberwolves easily got past them in the playoffs.
Rankin noted that Phoenix’s star trio is set to earn a combined $150 million in 2024-25, putting the team in a major financial hole this offseason. The Suns are set to have the league’s highest payroll, so they are certainly hoping that Beal will be able to stay healthy and perform better next year.