Phoenix Suns' Bradley Beal on teaming with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and being healthy

Bradley Beal isn’t tripping over this notion the Phoenix Suns should be concerned because they don’t have a true or traditional point guard.

He sees it from a perspective that makes sense after being mulled over.

“If we had a traditional point guard, he’s not going to be slowing our offense down, like Yo, hold the ball,” Beal said at Monday’s media day. Suns acquired him in a blockbuster trade this summer that sent arguably the best point guard of this generation, Chris Paul, to the Wizards.

“No, get the ball to Kevin (Durant), get the ball to D-Book (Devin Booker) and let’s get this thing going.”

Beal sat down this week with The Arizona Republic for a two-part Q&A in which we discuss how he fits in Phoenix’s Big 3, being injury-free, his kids and his one-word answer to how this season should unfold.

Part 1 begins with Beal discussing how he blended with Booker and Durant over the summer in pickup games.

From the pickup games you played with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant this summer, are you getting a sense of where your lane could be playing with those two?

“As silly as it may sound, it’s not too much different from where I’m coming from. They still want me to be aggressive. I still get the same shots and looks I would normally get in the game. It’s just a matter of now you’re sharing it with two other guys who can do the same thing you can do, if not better. I respect that. As we continue to play pickup as time goes along and we work out, you see where your niche can be in the game. You see what side they like to be on the most, you see where they like the ball. You kind of get a feel for that, but the thing I love is they’re like, ‘No B, what do you want. Go, feel free to do that.’ It’s going to take time for us to continue to develop it, but I love the fact that we’re just all so unselfish and we have the same mindset of whatever is best for the team is our aggressiveness, whatever that is. Be aggressive because we trust each other to make the right play.”

At media day, you talked about not having a true point guard and how you can just find the man you want to get the ball instead of forcing it to a one. Is too much being made of this or is this a concern?

“It’s a fine line. We respect the game and evolution of the game and the history of the game. Yeah, traditional point guards are great, but the game has developed to where are a lot more combo guards than just a traditional point guard. I don’t even know if there is a traditional guard in our game. I couldn’t tell you a legit point guard. We have a lot of scoring guards. A lot of shooting guards. It’s very tough to just put that one dimension on a player and I think that’s the beauty of our team. We have so much versatility from one through 15. Everybody is able to do more than just one thing, more than one job, but I think that’s where the sacrifice comes in at and understanding that we do have that much versatility, that it’s going to take some sacrifice in some areas for us to be where we want to be.”

I remember talking to Ray Allen when he first got with the Big 3 in Boston about finding his role. At that time, he said it was a work in progress, but they knew where he was on the floor. You feel the same here?

“It’s a little different because Ray had (Rajon) Rondo, too. That’s like four guys almost, three other guys he had to deal with. In some ways, yes and no. You understand we’re running through Book, through KD. That is us. That’s our team. These guys are well-respected players, hall of fame players. We’re going to continue to do what’s been working. And now you’re just adding me, you’re adding (Jusuf Nurkic) Nurk, just adding other pieces who are just able to uplift that a little bit more. It’s up to us to just find a niche. To me, my biggest approach is not about what Brad wants out of this. It’s how Brad can help and contribute to the benefit of the team. I think that’s the biggest mindset you need to have this year.”

You said in your introductory news conference it had been a minute you’ve been healthy in the offseason to work on your game in the summer. How much of a difference do you feel going into the season?

“In Year 12, this is probably the best I’ve felt for sure in the last three to four years. And that’s all a testament to being able to get back to my routine in the summer. Granted I’ve had injuries in the past couple of summers. I had the birth of my child. I had COVID one summer. It was all over the place. Now I have a legit clean slate. Crazy new environment. New threads. New everything and now I have a legit chance to work on my body, work on everything through the offseason to make sure I’m in the right place starting today. I feel amazing. My body is in a great spot. My mental is in a great spot. Like I said earlier, just the focus is in between the lines.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bradley Beal says Booker, Durant encouraging him with Phoenix Suns