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The Washington Wizards are reportedly working with All-Star guard Bradley Beal on a potential trade, should the organization decide to hit the reset button on the franchise, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Beal just signed a five-year, $251 million maximum contract last July. The deal includes a no-trade clause, which gives the three-time All-Star the power to block any trade and hence, choose where he ultimately ends up. According to the report, the Miami Heat, along with the Milwaukee Bucks, are expected to be “prominent suitors” for Beal.
The Heat are just coming off a gut-wrenching loss in the 2023 NBA Finals to the Denver Nuggets last Monday, where they bowed out in five games. With that, the Heat are highly expected to make a splash this summer to improve their chances of winning a championship. And Beal could be the wave they need to get over the hump.
Should Miami make a play for Beal, here is the perfect trade the Heat can make:
Miami Heat receive: Bradley Beal
Washington Wizards receive: Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson
Tyler Herro is definitely the main piece the Wizards want in this trade. Herro has averaged over 20 points per game over the last couple of seasons. He was Miami's second leading scorer in 2021-22 and their third leading scorer during this year's regular season before he eventually broke his hand in the opening round of the playoffs. Needless to say, the 23-year-old is only going to continue to develop as an offensive talent, especially with his scoring.
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Robinson, meanwhile, proved that he is still a high-level rotation player in the NBA. He once lost his spot in Erik Spoelstra's rotation, but eventually regained the Heat head coach's trust with his play during the postseason. Robinson stayed ready and is even developing his game, as he showed with his improved playmaking, dribbling, and cutting without the ball. With the sharpshooter still proving his worth as an NBA-caliber player, Washington eventually could flip him to a contender that needs more consistent shooting and gain more assets.
Meanwhile, this deal for Beal makes plenty of sense for the Heat as they will bring a legitimate third star they can pair with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Butler has shown that he can take over ball games when he needs to. But with what happened during the Finals, he needs more help carrying the offensive load in terms of playmaking and scoring. Beal, who averaged at least 30 points per game in back-to-back seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21, will certainly be a big boost to the Heat offense.
The best thing about this deal for the Heat is that they essentially just lose just Robinson from their 2023 playoff roster and gain a legitimate star in Beal in the process. That doesn't mean Herro is worth nothing. But Herro, save for 19 minutes, didn't suit up during Miami's magical postseason run to the Finals.
Just look back on what Miami just accomplished with its over-performing roster. They slayed the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round in five games. Then, they knocked off the New York Knicks in round two. Finally, despite almost choking a 3-0 lead, they beat the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on the road.
Considering the Heat did all that without Tyler Herro, doing this trade for Bradley Beal is a no-brainer for Pat Riley.
