On Wednesday night, Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal made his 2023-24 season debut against the Chicago Bulls.

Beal, who missed the first seven games of the season due to a back injury, was limited in minutes, according to coach Frank Vogel, who did not specify how many.

“He’s one of the most dynamic players in the league,” stated Vogel before the game. “With as much time as he had missed, we expect some rust.” With players moving around in the rotation, perhaps the rhythm isn’t disrupted too much.

“Just having a player that is as dynamic as Bradley Beal on both sides of the ball and being able to generate offensively, not just scoring the basketball, but creating for others, should give us a huge lift.”

Beal was acquired by the Suns in a deal with the Washington Wizards in June for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, and four future first-round selection swaps. Beal appeared in 50 games for Washington last season, scoring 23.2 points and dishing out 5.4 assists on 50.6% shooting.

Phoenix will get to witness Beal play alongside superstar Kevin Durant for the first time, though the Suns will have to wait a bit longer for the team to be fully functional. On Wednesday, Devin Booker (calf) missed his third consecutive game due to injury.

Still, Vogel was excited to watch the team’s newest star onto the court for the first time this season.

“You never know how things are going to jell,” Vogel went on to say. “But these guys are such good and complete players who can roll with and without the ball that I’m very optimistic that it won’t take long for them to gel, but you never know.” We’ll have to wait and watch how things play out.”