In desperate need of change, and amid a four-game losing streak and a reported rising tension in the locker room, the Phoenix Suns are benching All-Star Bradley Beal and veteran big man Jusuf Nurkic, according to NBA reporter Chris Haynes.
Phoenix will start rookie forward Ryan Dunn and veteran center Mason Plumlee in their place starting on Monday when the Suns take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
“There is also tension in that locker room,” Haynes said in his report. “I’m told players are — certain players are unsure of their roles and frustrated in how they’re being used. The coaching staff, they’re trying to figure things out.”
The Suns (15-18) are on a four-game losing streak and are 1-7 in their last eight.
The benching also comes as the Suns are linked to Miami Heat’s superstar Jimmy Butler, who is likely on his way out of South Florida and who listed the Phoenix Suns as one of his preferred trade destinations.
This could indicate the a trade is incoming, and the Suns (miraculously) found takes for the bloated contract of Beal (which includes a no trade clause) and Nurkic, who has been almost unplayable in the Suns offense.
