The Deal: Bradley Beal for Joe Ingles and Cole Anthony

Right off the bat, I'm going to have to ask you to suspend disbelief.

First of all, Beal would have to waive his no-trade clause for any deal to go through. That alone could make this less likely.

And beyond that, it's borderline impossible to find a team that would be desperate or ill-informed enough to take on Beal and what's left of his contract. It runs through 2026-27, when he has a $57.1 million player option.

But the 30-year-old is surely the player Phoenix would most like to unload. His lack of availability was a problem all season, and the length and size of his contract is a huge part of the team's financial issues.

To find a deal even remotely believable, a couple other dominoes would have to fall.

First, the Orlando Magic would need to flame out of a first-round series in which they've been competitive with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

And second, they'd need to strike out in free agency (where they'll have $30-60 million in cap space).

Continuing their organic rebuild around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner is probably the more prudent approach, but the Magic could use an offensive boost (they were 22nd on that end this season). And if they can't get it elsewhere, absorbing Beal's deal with that cap space could be short-term fix (with potential long-term ramifications).

Beal missed 29 games this season, but he did average 18.2 points and 5.0 assists, while shooting 43.0 percent from deep. He had an above-average true shooting percentage, while Wagner was below average and Banchero was one of the least efficient scorers in the entire league.

He'd remain a third option in Orlando, but his skills are more needed there than they are in Phoenix.

The Suns, meanwhile, would get a pair of players who would instantly enter their rotation. Both Cole Anthony and Joe Ingles can be table-setters (though the former is certainly more of the shoot-first variety), and Phoenix needed more of that all season. Far too often, its offense broke down to one-on-one opportunities for the stars.

This deal doesn't recoup any draft capital, but that's just not going to happen with the three-time All-Star. What it does is add a little passing and depth. And again, if the Suns can find anyone to take on Beal, it'll have to think about it.

Based on little more than the financial savings of this trade (Ingles has a team option for $11 million in 2024-25, while Anthony's deal tops out with a $13.1 million team option in 2026-27), it might be worthwhile.