The Miami Heat have not been the most active of teams in recent years even though it looks like their Championship window for the Jimmy Butler era is getting narrower. The organization have decided to trust the roster that they have rather than making wholesale changes over the summer.
Last summer, the Heat were believed to be chasing the signature of Damian Lillard. But they were not able to pull it off and the point guard ended up with the Milwaukee Bucks.
That move might have had an effect on another high-profile player. We are talking about Bradley Beal.
Beal was traded to the Phoenix Suns but he has admitted that he was expecting the Heat and the Bucks to make a move.
On a recent appearance on the ‘Run Your Race’ podcast, Beal said: “Phoenix wasn’t even in the picture for me to go to. That was a fly ball that came out of nowhere. I’m just chilling, I’m waiting on Miami to hit me a grounder. Milwaukee, you know. Those were kinda like my two. Miami didn’t want to do it, for whatever reason didn’t know why. Milwaukee I was like straddling the fence.”
It is not hard to see why the Heat might have been reluctant to make a move for Beal. He signed a 5-year, $251 million max contract with the Washington Wizards in 2022.
Beal is a good player for sure and a 3-time All-Star. But does he move the needle to the point where it would justify the Heat making that sort of investment? We are not exactly sure.
Beal was eventually traded by the Wizards to the Suns, along with Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd, in exchange for a package that included four first-round pick swaps, six second-round picks, Landry Shamet, and Chris Paul.
We have seen Beal’s numbers drop since his move to Phoenix. He averaged 18.2 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.4 rebounds last season while playing just 53 regular games.