Suns share rough Bradley Beal injury update

Jan 30, 2020; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) warms up before the game between the Washington Wizards and the Charlotte Hornets at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Getting all of their Big Three on the court at the same time is proving to be an impossible task for the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns announced Friday that guard Bradley Beal is set to miss at least another three weeks with his lower back strain. Beal will continue to rehab the injury, and the team will re-evaluate him after the three-week mark.

The back issue, which Beal was also dealing with in training camp, has limited him to just three games played so far this season. Unfortunately for the Suns, all three of those games came with Devin Booker out due to injury as well, meaning that Phoenix’s Big Three of Beal, Booker, and Kevin Durant has yet to even get in a single game together.

Beal, a three-time All-Star who was acquired by the Suns in a blockbuster trade over the offseason, didn’t quite look right even in the games that he did play. He has posted 17.3 points per game (his lowest total in nearly a decade) on 39.1 percent shooting from the floor (by far a career worst).

Friday’s news means that Beal will effectively be unable to participate in any remaining In-Season Tournament games and is unlikely to return until Dec. 12 against the Golden State Warriors at the very earliest. The Suns have at least gotten Booker back from his injury. But given the absurd money that Beal is making, this is very far from what Phoenix envisioned when they swung that trade for him.