It's no secret that the Miami Heat wanted to acquire Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards this past summer so they could have two All-Stars leading the charge down in South Beach.
Heat president Pat Riley already made one big splash by acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Philadelphia 76ers. The next logical step for Riley was to get Beal, who had two years left on his deal with the Wizards and hadn't given Washington an answer whether he was going to sign the extension the franchise offered him.
Beal eventually signed a two-year extension with the Wizards, ending the Heat's hopes of acquiring the sharpshooter — for now at least. Beal recently spoke with Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald to address his rumored interest in the Heat:
“Yes and no,” Beal said. “I’ve heard it but I didn’t really sit and really dissect everything. It was more or less trying to figure out what I was wanted to do here, what our situation was here because everything was up in the air, in a cloud, so I couldn’t make a decision based off uncertainty or make a rash decision just because it was a little cloudy.
“Once everything cleared up, we got our GM [Tommy Sheppard], we got our staff. We were able to sit down and discuss our future. That’s why I’m still here.”
The 26-year-old guard added that while the Heat were a consideration for him, it was never a legitimate destination for him. When asked if he looked at the Heat before signing an extension, Beal answered:
“It’s both; it’s both,” Beal added. “This [Heat] organization is by far one of the best run in the league. What you hear from Pat Riley on down, from how coach Spo [Erik Spoelstra] is one of the best coaches in the league. You see the high character guys who come in and out. Having several championships here. It’s a championship caliber organization so you have to respect it.”
With his new extension, Beal is now guaranteed $130 million over four seasons. His new deal contains a player option for the 2022-2023 season.
Beal would be eligible to sign a five-year, $266 million contract with the Wizards in the summer of 2022 if he declines that player option.
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