SunsRank Counterpoint: Why Bradley Beal is the third-best Phoenix Sun, not Grayson Allen

I feel like I am in the Twilight ZoneOr in a series of Black Mirror. Every time I think I have everything figured out, I am blindsided by reality. Or at least by other people’s reality.

Our most recent SunsRank has sparked debate, and that’s exactly our intention. It’s about capturing our current thoughts and views on the Phoenix Suns as we head into the 2024-25 season. These views are sure to evolve once the ball drops on October 23rd, and will continue to change as the season progresses. Not everyone will agree with everyone.

So we will discuss.

IJ Hamilton, one of the popular hosts of the Suns Planet Podcast and contributor here at Bright Side, recently outlined why he thinks Grayson Allen is the third best member of the Suns. He made some solid arguments to support his belief, and I can’t blame someone for having an opinion and backing it up with solid arguments.

But I’m allowed to have an opinion on this, right?

I’m not shocked by the inclusion. I’m shocked by the reaction. At the time of writing, the poll on whether or not Grayson Allen is the Suns’ third-best player had 277 votes. 144 – 52% – said yes!

Keyword damn Twilight Zone Music. I travel through another dimension – a dimension not only of sight and hearing, but also of the mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose limits are those of the imagination…

Like cousin Eddie, I have to ask, “Are you serious, Clark?” Did the Suns Facebook page get this post? Because some of the people there actually believe Allen is better, and the fact that the majority of the Bright Side community thinks so too shocks me. Concerned. Confused. I question my existence as a Suns fan and maybe even as a human being.

I understand the backlash. I really do. Bradley Beal underperformed compared to expectations last year. He played in 53 games, reinforcing the “always injured” narrative. He had a terrible fourth game against the Minnesota Timberwolves that left us with an ashy taste of contempt. He was paid a lot to do something we perceive as little.

Meanwhile, Grayson Allen exceeded expectations. He was the best three-point shooter in the NBA. He was a surprise and one of the main reasons we believe the Suns won the Deandre Ayton trade.

But is Grayson Allen better than Bradley Beal?

Yes, determining who is “better” is a subjective argument. And I subjectively and strongly disagree. But on no planet – not the planet of the sun, not here on Mother Earth – do I consider Grayson Allen better than Bradley Beal. And I’ll tell you why.

Let’s start with some of the arguments put forward by IJ:

Allen dominated with a batting average of .499.

“Dominated” is a strong word here. At 49.9% from the field, Allen is the ninth-best player on the team. And 151st in the NBA among players who have played at least 50 games. Bradley Beal shot 51.3% from the field – sixth-best player on the team and 121st in the league. So if GA dominated, Beal must have destroyed the competition with his shots.

Even more impressive is her three-point percentage of .461, which led not only the Suns but the entire NBA last season. Suns fans, rejoice: We have the best three-point shooter in the league. How good is that!

I don’t agree. Allen had an exceptional year in terms of his performance from beyond the three-point line. In the context of his career, it was his best shooting season at 5.2%! That’s quite a jump. Is that to be expected now? Is that some kind of sustained success?

GA scored from distance, but does that make him a better basketball player than Bradley Beal? Or just a better three-point shooter? Should we ignore the fact that Beal the sixth best three-point shooter in the NBA at 43%?

Grayson Allen’s ball-handling skills are solid, as evidenced by his 95 turnovers last season. For comparison, Kevin Durant had 244, Devin Booker 178, Jusuf Nurkić 175 and Bradley Beal 131. Despite playing the second-most minutes on the team – 2,513, just behind Durant’s 2,791 – Allen kept his turnovers low. Add to that his average of 3.0 assists per game, which shows that he not only handles the ball appropriately, but reliably.

Oy. Totals.

Allen’s usage percentage was 14.3%, which ranked him 14th on the Suns. It’s not exactly hard to avoid turnovers when you barely have the ball in your hands. Beal’s assist-to-turnover ratio, meanwhile, was 2.0, well behind Allen’s impressive 2.4. But hey, Beal managed a 22.4% usage rate, so that’s something.

So, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a bad thing to have 36 more turnovers in a season when the utilization rate is 8.1% higher. How do you like the total?

I understand the value for money argument. Beal was paid $46.7 million last season, Allen $8.9 million. (Psst…you know why? Because Bradley Beal is better…) We got more for our money from Allen, so that means he’s better. Considering he only makes 19% of what Beal makes but leads the league in three-point shooting, he’s got to be better! Oh, and he’s better than Devin Booker… and Kevin Durant…

I understand there is some disappointment after what happened to the Phoenix Suns overall last season. The team underperformed. But that doesn’t mean we have to lose our minds about who is better than who.

Oh, you need a reason why Bradley Beal is CLEARLY the third best member of the Phoenix Suns, behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but well ahead of Grayson Allen? As Jules in pulp Fiction“Allow me to respond.”

Let’s start with something simple.

If Grayson Allen is so good, why will he come off the bench next season? Why isn’t he starting ahead of Bradley Beal? I mean, he’s the better player, right? Money is no object; you have to put your best players on the field, right? Answer: GA is not the better player, that’s why.

Last season may have been disappointing, but Beal wasn’t as terrible as the offseason made him out to be. Hell, he’s one of the few guys who showed leadership, courage, accountability and “I don’t care” at the end of the season. Remember what Grayson Allen said at the end of the season? No? What about Beal?

I have to get my mine hat out, don’t I? Let’s go through every single NBA team last season and determine who was the third-leading scorer on each team, counting players who played 50 games or more. I wonder where Bradley Beal ranks on that list? Grayson Allen is better, so Beal has to be way down the list, right?

The Suns’ third-best player last season scored 18.2 points on 51.3/43.0/81.3 splits. He averaged 5.0 assists (second on the team) and 4.4 rebounds (fifth on the team). And his name wasn’t Grayson Allen.

It was Bradley Emmanuel Beal.

I completely understand the disappointment surrounding Beal. It’s easy to feel uneasy when you look at the lack of flexibility on his contract and the years remaining. But while these concerns are valid, they may miss the bigger picture. Beal’s talent and potential impact on the team are undeniable.

The team lacked direction and was poorly positioned last year. This is all Beal’s fault, I’m sure. Don’t let recency bias toward the Suns as a whole cloud your judgment of his potential, basketball talent, ability, and acumen. Or don’t. You are entitled to your opinion on this matter, and while I think half the community missed the mark here, I’m sure you’ll have your reasons for doing so (and I expect justification in the chat below).

I had to explain my reasons why I think the statement that Grayson Allen is better than Breadley Beal is completely insane, and I’ve done that now.