Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal optimistic for quicker return from right ankle injury

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal’s mood is far better than 48 hours ago when he sprained his right ankle in Friday’s loss to the New York Knicks and still felt it the day after.

“(Saturday) was a little nasty, I didn’t feel as great, but (Sunday), I woke up a lot better,” Beal said. The Suns didn’t practice Saturday.

“I can put a lot of weight on my foot I can walk around. So that’s very promising.”

Sources informed The Republic that Beal will likely be out two to three weeks with the sprain with the best case scenario being two weeks and the worst case being out four weeks.

When asked if he’ll back within two weeks, Beal said, “I hope so,” with a smile.

The Suns will have an official update Monday.

“I just keep my faith and stay grounded,” Beal said. “Thankfully it’s not as bad as it is and no injury I’ve ever had has been as bad as it is. I’m blessed that I can be here today and hopefully be healthier soon and stay that way moving forward.”

The Suns acquired Beal in the offseason in a blockbuster trade that sent Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards, who later moved Paul to Golden State and got Jordan Poole in return.

Beal missed Sunday’s game against his former team, the Wizards, at Footprint Center.

Standing with crutches outside the visiting locker room, Beal was talking to some of his former teammates such as Anthony Gill, who became close friends with the three-time All-Star.

“We just got to walk through life together,” Gill said. “He has kids, I have kids. For the last three years, our kids got to be together, we got to be together. We got to do fatherhood together. Just really being a great man is probably the biggest thing.”

Playing 11 seasons in Washington, Beal is the franchise’s second all-time leading scorer as he scored 15,391 points in 11 seasons after being taken third overall in the 2012 draft out of Florida.

“Obviously, there’s the competitor factor,” Gill continued. “He came every day to practice ready to work. That was something that I really cherish. I really understood that if want to be here for a high level and play a long time? Just competing every day in practice like he did just show his character, his true character. If he can go out there every day as hard as he did, for me, there was no excuses.”

Gill is certain Beal will make his mark with the Suns.

“I know he wants to be out there and I know circumstances just haven’t gone his way so far,” Gill said before Sunday’s game. “I do know one thing, when he gets his opportunity, when he does start to play with that group, he’s going to make the team a lot better."

Beal is averaging just 14.7 points in his six games with the Suns, his lowest per game output since his rookie year of 2012-13 when he went for 13.9.

“He’s an unbelievable competitor,” Gill said. “He wants to win every single game. Injuries right now are just freak injuries that just don’t happen every day. So it’s happening for a reason, but once they get the opportunity to play together, I think it’s going to be special.”

Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr., who coached Beal in Washington, feels his former player’s frustration, but believes Beal will return from the injury sooner than later.

“You feel bad because the guy works at and he’s put so much into his craft,” Unseld Jr. said. “Some of it is, you could say bad luck or timing. I think he’ll bounce back from his little bout quickly. He knows his body. He takes care of his body. I foresee him finding his way back on the floor shortly.”

Beal sprained his right ankle landing on Donte DiVincenzo’s foot on a 3-point basket with 7:28 left in the first quarter. He hit the floor, immediately grabbed at his ankle and stayed down a minute.

DiVincenzo was called for a foul on the play. After review, it was upgraded to a Flagrant 1.

Beal stayed in the game to shoot the free throw, made it, checked out the game and didn’t return.

“We all want him out there, but every team has ankle sprains on their roster,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said before Sunday’s game. “We’ve had (Booker, Durant and Beal) have ankle sprains. You know how bad he wants to be out there. We don’t want to spend a lot of time frustrated with injuries. We’re focusing on the guys we have.”

This has been an injury-filled start to Beal’s time in Phoenix. He only played in two preseason games due to low back issues and then missed the first seven games of the regular season with the same problem.

Beal made his Suns debut Nov. 8 at Chicago, played the next two games, but re-injured his back against Nov. 12 against Oklahoma City.

The Suns decided to carve out a three-week window for Beal to rehab his back. He missed 12 consecutive games before returning Tuesday against the Warriors.

Phoenix’s Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Beal made their debut against the Nets in the second of a home back-to-back. The Suns lost, 116-112, but Beal played 34 minutes.

So going into Friday’s game, Beal was taken off the minute restriction as the Suns just asked him to play smart. Beal made his first two shots and was looking like the guy who averaged 30-plus points in consecutive seasons with the Wizards, but then he went down with the ankle injury.

He left the court in obvious frustration that comes from a deeper place than just the injury itself.

“You want to show, especially when you come into a new situation and the team has invested so much in you, you want to be able to showcase, this is what you guys invested in,” said Beal, who is in the second year of a five-year, $251-million deal he originally signed in Washington.

“That definitely eats at it, but I’ve been in this league a long time. I’ve seen the good, the bad, the injuries, I’ve seen the ups and downs. The mind is a positive thing. When your mind is positive and you’re focused on getting back and being in a positive spirit, everything takes care of itself.”

The Suns have had 10 players miss at least one game due to injury.

“It’s tough to say anything other than the cliché of next man up,” Suns guard Grayson Allen said. “It’s the true mindset you have to have because when you’re missing a guy like Brad, everyone has to fill the gaps of what he provides to the team. It’s not going to be one guy. It’s going to be by committee, a committee of guys stepping up.”

Have opinions about the 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: Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal optimistic for quicker return from injury