Miami Heat: The significant lingering appeal of Bradley Beal

As the Miami Heat prepare for the rapidly approaching 2020-21 NBA season, reports of their interest in shooting guard Bradley Beal will not go away.

The Miami Heat are entering an interesting phase in their evolution as a franchise.

Following their sixth, albeit unsuccessful, trip to the NBA Finals in team history, the Heat were extremely diligent and savvy in their approach to free agency. While they lost a starter in Jae Crowder, and a rotation player in Derrick Jones Jr. to multi-year deals elsewhere, the Heat managed to maintain their flexibility going forward by inking the veteran pair of Avery Bradley and Maurice Harkless to one-year deals, while possessing a team option to extend Bradley an extra year.

Of course, this is all done with the summer of 2021 in mind, and the ultimate goal of luring two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to South Beach. However, this made slightly more difficult with the recent contract extension of All-Star Bam Adebayo.

While signing Adebayo to a five-year, $163 million contract was cause for celebration on both sides of the deal, the complexities of signing the deal now instead of waiting until next offseason, explained here by Sam Quinn of CBS, means the Heat will have less salary cap space to sign Antetokounmpo or any other prospective free agent. But as Bobby Marks of ESPN stated on Twitter recently regarding the complexities of the salary cap when it comes to the Heat front office, Miami tends to find a way to create room when they want.

Nonetheless, Antetokounmpo has until Dec. 21 to agree to a maximum contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, which means the Heat very shortly will have a much clearer picture of their overall road ahead. The other name that has frequently been mentioned as a target of the Heat is Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal.

At 27 and with eight seasons under his belt, Beal is poised to enter the absolute prime of his career. Despite averaging a career-high 30.5 points and 6.1 assists per game last season, the lack of success of the Wizards meant Beal was not selected as an All-Star, having made the team the previous two seasons.

One of the most potent and dangerous scorers in the league, Beal is highly efficient across the board, with his improved playmaking another feature, having increased his assist number over each of the past four seasons. Just last week, veteran sports reporter for the Miami Herald Barry Jackson noted the following:

"If Giannis Antetokounmpo signs a max extension with the Bucks, Washington guard Bradley Beal becomes the No. 1 Heat target if or when he becomes available. The Heat’s interest remains very high, according to a source with direct knowledge."

In a season of spectacular personal highlights, Beal’s career-high 55 points against the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks, just one night after posting 53 points, was simply incredible. Almost as remarkable was the overall offensive efficiency output he experienced with teammate Davis Bertans.

Among 179 two-man lineups that played at least 1000 minutes last season, the Beal-Bertans duo ranked No. 1 with a 118.7 offensive rating, per NBA Stats. With Beal’s overall presence combined with Bertans’ long-range prowess, the Wizards’ offense fired with this pair sharing the floor. Given the Heat led the league in 3-point accuracy this past season, this is certainly an appealing prospect. Which brings us to the Heat and a possible union with Beal.

On paper, any lineup featuring Beal, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo would enter a season as a genuine contender. The biggest question, however, is just what the Heat would have to forego to obtain Beal’s services. Currently on the books until the end of the 2021-22 season with a player option for the following year, it’s completely understandable that the Wizards’ front office would play hardball regarding any advancements towards Beal.

With a plethora of expiring contracts, future draft picks and young talent at their disposal, the Heat could put together a compelling deal such as the following.

Given Beal’s standing in the league, such a trade package is no guarantee to get the job done, meaning additional players, like incoming rookie Precious Achiuwa, would need to be added into the equation.

So whether it’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bradley Beal or another All-Star level player, the Miami Heat are not going to die wondering. And whilst Pat Riley is still in charge, nabbing another whale will remain at the absolute forefront of their thinking.