The Miami Heat are re-tooled and ready for another deep playoff run this season. After bringing in Kyle Lowry, PJ Tucker, and Markieff Morris while retaining Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Dwayne Dedmon, the Heat are looking to take back the Eastern Conference in 2022 and bring an NBA title to South Beach for the first time since 2013.
Led by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the deep and talented Heat squad is poised to make some serious noise during the 2021-22 NBA season. Still looking to add more talent to their roster in hopes of another title run, one player who could help get them over the top is Bradley Beal.
A trade with the Washington Wizards straight up would require the Heat to surrender a lot of assets the front office may not be willing to part with at the moment. The best outcome for the Heat with regard to a Beal trade is a three-team deal that would allow them to unload some assets while getting a superstar in return and helping another team out in the process.
Let's take a look at the Heat's best theoretical, three-team trade to steal Bradley Beal from the Wizards.
Proposed Three-Team Trade
Heat receive: Bradley Beal and Thomas Bryant
Wizards receive: Mason Plumlee, KZ Okpala, PJ Washington, multiple 2022 first-round picks, and a 2023 second-round pick
Hornets receive: Tyler Herro and Montrezl Harrell
In this trade scenario, the Heat are getting one of the league's best scoring guards who could be the missing link to their next title run. With his relentless three-level scoring punch and underrated playmaking abilities, Beal would make Miami the biggest threat to the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks in the star-studded Eastern Conference. The Heat would also be getting a promising young big in Bryant, who could give the team a well-rounded starting five.
This would be huge for the Heat, especially since a lack of size and length on the interior has been their biggest flaw over the past couple of seasons. Even though Bryant has been injury-prone as of late, the Heat's top-notch training staff could get him back on track and keep him healthy for longer periods of time.
This would in turn enable him to play more meaningful minutes and give the Heat a stronger presence in the paint. Given the talent Erik Spoelstra's team already possesses, successfully pulling off this trade would put them over the top and make them instant title contenders.
Meanwhile, the Wizards would be getting two quality big men and a plethora of draft picks to satisfy the loss of their long-time franchise superstar. The additions of Plumlee and Okpala would fit snugly in the Wizards' rotation, and with a few more draft picks at their disposal, they'd have the flexibility to make more moves to build for the future.
This would be a tough pill for the Wizards to swallow, but holding off on a rebuild would only delay the inevitable and get in the way of developing young talents like Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija. The acquisition of Washington would also give them another solid, versatile player to add to their youth movement.
For the Hornets, a backcourt rotation featuring Herro, LaMelo Ball, and Terry Rozier would be a major upgrade. Under the direction of James Borrego, Herro could regain his confidence and become a more efficient and productive player similar to when he played a huge role in the Heat's surprise run to the 2020 NBA Finals.
On the flip side, Harrell would give the Hornets a huge boost in the frontcourt, providing them with length, athleticism, and active hands on the glass. The addition of Herro and Harrell would prove to be highly beneficial to this up-and-coming Hornets squad.
A trade of such magnitude may seem crazy, especially since the three teams are division rivals swapping players and picks, but all of them would benefit from this trade in a major way.
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