In the wake of Mike Budenholzer getting dismissed from his job as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, a fascinating report has surfaced regarding what he asked out of one of his star players, guard Bradley Beal.
Budenholzer reportedly told Beal he wanted him to be the “Jrue Holiday of this team,” and Beal is said to have gotten offended in response. He apparently told Budenholzer not to disrespect him.
Former NBA player Rashad McCants made a post on X replying to the story and theorized that if Budenholzer had asked Beal to play like Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, Beal would have had no issue with the request.
Bet if he said… “I need you to play like Kobe Bryant.” It wouldn’t be a problem at all… there is a balance when I make em move around.
— Rashad McCants (@SoundbiteKing) April 15, 2025
McCants could be implying a couple of things. He could be suggesting that Beal didn’t receive Budenholzer’s idea well because of the type of role it would’ve required him to play, or he could be suggesting that Beal would’ve been more receptive to the conversation if Budenholzer had given him an NBA legend to think about instead of a fellow guard currently in the NBA.
With the Boston Celtics, Holiday takes a back seat as a scorer to players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and Boston relies on him to do some of the dirty work for the team such as play great defense and rebound at a high level for his position.
Holiday has proven that he’s willing to take on a lesser role for the betterment of the team, as he averaged just 11.1 points per game with the Celtics in the 2024-25 regular season.
Conversely, Beal looked out of sorts in a complementary role with the Suns in the 2024-25 campaign, but he enjoyed plenty of success earlier in his career as the top option for the Washington Wizards on offense.
He’s averaged more than 30 points per game twice in his NBA career and nearly won a scoring title in the 2020-21 season. Beal averaged the second-most points per contest in the league that season behind only Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
Perhaps Beal needs to be in a role like Bryant had with the Lakers where he can lead a team’s offense in order to be at his best. It seems hard to believe that Beal will stick around in Phoenix for the long haul after his difficult second season with the Suns, but he might not be all that easy to move on from either considering the size of his contract. A buyout could be an option.
