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The Suns were expected to shine so brightly that Post-Dispatch sportswriter Benjamin Hochman wrote a column before the season began touting the possibly of them and the Jayson Tatum-led Boston Celtics meeting in the NBA Finals, creating a matchup of ºüÀêÊÓƵ high school basketball legends from Chaminade.

Tatum and the Celtics remain on track to get there, having compiled the league’s best record in the regular season, then beating Miami in five games in the first round of the playoffs. They are tied with Cleveland 1-1 in the second round, but despite an upset loss Thursday the Celtics remain a heavy favorite to win the series.

But Beal and the Suns sunk. He endured an injury-marred season in which he missed 29 games and averaged just 18.2 points — his lowest output in eight years. The Suns meandered to an underachieving 49-33 record and the sixth seed for the Western Conference playoffs. He did play in all the club’s postseason games, but there were only four of them. His production fell to 16.5 points, and the Suns were swept in the first round by Minnesota.

To say it was a disappointing season is a vast understatement, and Beal has two seasons and $103.8 million remaining on his deal plus a player option for the next one that is worth $57.1 million. Plus, he has a no-trade provision.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a former Brooklyn Nets executive, ripped the Suns about making the trade for Beal by calling the no-trade clause “a killer,� suggesting the team should have insisted that the clause be removed before acquiring Beal from Washington. Now, the Suns are handcuffed with that, Marks said.

“I don’t think the Bradley Beal contract is movable,� he said while , a multimedia platform covering Arizona athletics. “... It’s the worst contract in the NBA right now.�

He took it a step deeper on an , again emphasizing the problem with the no-trade provision.

“That should have been a walkaway� for the Suns, he said. “Now you are married, again, to that no-trade clause and probably the most toxic contract in NBA history. Bradley Beal’s a good player. Bradley Beal’s not a $50 million-per-year player. He’s not worth the $160 million left on his contract.�

He wasn’t alone in his criticism. Chris Broussard and Rob Parker pounded away, too, on a recent edition of their “The Odd Couple.� They compared Beal’s deal to that of the one the Los Angeles Clippers have with Kawhi Leonard, who also is injury prone and played in just two of the six games in the first-round playoff series his team lost to Dallas. Leonard is due $50 million in each of the next two seasons.

“Bradley Beal is arguably the (NBA’s) worst contract,� Broussard said. “... Bradly Beal’s contract, Rob, probably is even worse that Kawhi’s because Kawai actually plays a little more than Beal and he’s obviously better.�

Parker: “Who in the world is trading for� Beal?

Broussard: “Nobody. It’s a miracle the Suns traded for him. Here’s the other thing, Rob: He’s got a no-trade clause.�

Parker: “How the hell did he earn that?�

Broussard: “I don’t know, but again, congrats to the agent and Beal himself because you all did a heck of a job.�

Broussard suggest the Suns should trade Durant for several younger players.

“There’s nothing (they) can do with Beal, (they’re) stuck with that,� he said. “See what you can get for Durant ... some young talent that fits with Devin Booker.�