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The first year of the Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal trio wasn’t a success, but Beal isn’t looking at this season as the end, but rather the beginning.
“We didn’t look at this thing as a one-year thing and we’re going to come in and just, we only got this year to figure it out,” Beal said, per ESPN’s Baxter Holmes. “No, we’ve got time. You don’t want to use that as a cop-out, but the reality we live in, that’s the game plan. We have a window. Yeah, it’s a short window, but we have a window, so we want to maximize it as much as possible. And obviously, we still have a lot of room to grow. We all have to be better. I’ve got to be better. And we all have to be better as an organization and move towards that goal of winning the title, which isn’t easy.”
The group didn’t get much time together before the playoffs as Beal struggled with injuries for much of the year and missed 30 games. The lack of chemistry was evident during the first round as Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves put the Suns away in just four games.
Beal was inconsistent in the series, averaging 16.5 points per game and disappearing in Game 4 with just nine points.
But if the Phoenix can retain Durant, Booker and Beal next season, it could find better luck as the group gets better adjusted. Given Durant’s history, his return to the Suns isn’t a given. If he feels he has a better chance to win a championship somewhere else, he could force a trade and end the trio’s run together.
For now, Beal is hopeful that he, Durant and Booker can lead Phoenix to a title after a shaky first year together.
