PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns’ Jan. 16 game against the Washington Wizards will no longer be shown on TNT.

The game, which would have featured Bradley Beal’s return to Washington after spending the early part of his career there, was the Wizards’ only nationally televised game:

The start time is now 5:00 p.m. MST and will be shown on Arizona’s Family 3TV and Arizona’s Family Sports instead of TNT.

The move sparked widespread speculation about Beal’s future in Phoenix after it was revealed that Jimmy Butler had listed the Suns as a preferred trade destination. Beal is the only player the Suns would potentially send in a trade and it is reported that he would waive his no-trade clause.

It didn’t help when Beal was a surprise late miss before Phoenix’s win Friday night against the Utah Jazz, suffering knee soreness that wasn’t on the injury report until shortly before the game began.

Realistically, the move could be due to the Wizards being the worst team in the NBA with a record of 3-20 – they went winless through the entire month of November, while players like Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma were out before the league’s February tournament could be exchanged. 6 deadline.

The Suns themselves hope to be able to get going again after a difficult phase without Kevin Durant. Phoenix enters Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers with a record of 13:11.