NBA Trade Rumors: Which teams can Bradley Beal take to the top?
By Duncan Smith
NBA trade rumors: Can Bradley Beal take the Golden State Warriors to the top?
The Golden State Warriors are desperate to make a trade for a star, but their ammunition is less than impressive. They have the seventh and 14th picks in this year’s draft, which is certainly reasonable, but are those picks plus Andrew Wiggins (and James Wiseman?) and the remaining two years and $65 million on his contract enough?
They shouldn’t be. Beal is a legitimate star (if not exactly a superstar) in this league, a scoring leader, and he’s worth more to any franchise than Wiggins and these two picks. If Beal WAS added to this roster, however, with Wiggins sent to Washington, the Warriors would have to make do with an undersized defensive backcourt duo of Steph Curry and Beal. They’ll put up points and be better than last season, but it’s going to be hard to compete for championships with their physical limitations.
NBA trade rumors: Can Bradley Beal take the Miami Heat to the top?
The Miami Heat need to make sure they don’t get led astray by an outlier performance in last year’s NBA bubble. They made a valiant run through the Eastern Conference to make it to the NBA Finals, but their showing this past season without the benefit of the bubble, which played to their strengths, revealed that they have a ways to go yet.
The Heat will have cap flexibility if they choose to exercise it, which can help them make a deal happen, but they’re a team that is more than one piece away. They can’t be blamed for going for it if they do, but they’re not a likely championship team just by adding Bradley Beal to a core of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.