27-year-old star Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal has become the clear second star target for the Heat behind reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
A two-time All-Star for Washington, Beal averaged 30.5 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 4.2 RPG for a depleted Wizards club last year. He also sported a great shooting slash line of .455/.353/.842. The Heat hope to have enough cap space to sign a max free agent in 2021. Though the Heat could offer a pricey contract extension to emergent All-Star power forward/center Bam Adebayo during the offseason, doing so now instead of waiting until the 2021 offseason could complicate their cap space next summer.
Beal won’t reach free agency until at least 2022, but the Heat have strong interest in trading for him if he expresses dissatisfaction in Washington and the Wizards make him available, according to Jackson, who says “all parties are aware of that.”
There’s more out of the NBA’s Southeast Division:
- In a conversation for The Kevin Sheehan Show, Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard spoke about potentially trading injured point guard John Wall trade for frustrated Rockets All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook. “I think it’s fair to say we talk about every player on every team,” Sheppard said, as Ava Wallace of the Washington Post tweeted. “I wouldn’t dwell on it. I’m excited to have John Wall back, looking forward to having him in training camp.” Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington opines that the exploration of this move suggests a willingness by Sheppard to take chances in building his roster.
- Wizards GM Sheppard made no bones about the most important free agent for his club, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). “(Power forward) Dāvis (Bertāns) is our free agency and we will add pieces afterwards,” Sheppard said.
- When asked about his plans for the 2020/21 season, Heat team president Pat Riley appeared to indicate that he would be interested in retaining most of the team’s key free agents, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). “I’d like to run this thing back,” Riley said.
Washington wasn’t willing to give up 5 first round picks to get Westbrook.
Lol
lol
No one is giving up 5 firsts for Westbrook. Lol. From what I’ve read they can’t find anyone willing to give up 1. You think they’re getting 5?! Ha ha ha ha ha!
I need to see the advanced metrics on Beal. Is he really that good, or does he look the part by being the only person scoring the ball on a cursed Wizards team…what do YOU think?
He’s not as good as his numbers this past season on a good team but he’s a 20 point guy everyday and in the playoffs he always did even better
I’m a wizards fan so I’ve seen the vast majority of Beal’s games in the NBA. I think he’s an excellent player but not quite in that superstar tier. He really struggled defensively this past year but I think it’s largely due to having so much of a workload offensively. If he were on a better team, he would probably be a more well rounded player.
When Pat Riley looks at someone, he usually doesn’t get it wrong. Beal wouldn’t score as much with the Heat, but he would be a better all-around player due to the system and the culture.
Wall for Westbrook has a sort of genius about it. Gives both players a clean slate and probably keeps Houston interesting while they re-tool. Probably wouldn’t get them into the playoffs, so they could draft high.
Westbrook and Beal would be a very potent combination, and would at least get the Wizards into the playoffs. With a little luck in player development, they could be a contender.
Rockets should trade Harden to the nets and Westbrook for Wall. They get all the good young players from Brooklyn and a good leader in Wall to take the reins. There’s still some good vets left in Houston as well.
Cave believe Riley is going to make Bam Adebayo wait another year for his extension. I hope Adebayo’s people are fighting for him, because Riley clearly doesn’t have Bam’s best interests in mind.
Riley is about building winners with a team. He’s not about keeping one guy happy. If Riley showed LeBron how things work under him, he has no problem doing the same with Bam.
hoping Giannis won’t sign