Miami Heat: How Bradley Beal would pair with Jimmy Butler

The Miami Heat are seen as one of the potential suitors for Bradley Beal, who is considering requesting a trade from the Washington Wizards before the NBA draft. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report stated on July 24th that Beal is thinking about asking for a trade before the draft, and his preferred destinations are Miami, Golden State, Boston, and Philadelphia.

Beal’s list of preferred destinations creates an interesting question: how would he look alongside Heat star Jimmy Butler? The answer is: he would fit perfectly alongside Butler. The Heat run an offensive system centered around dribble handoffs and pick and rolls.

Let’s take a look at the hypothetical role Bradley Beal would play alongside Miami Heat star, Jimmy Butler if the Heat were to make a big trade.

They were 2nd during the regular season in dribble handoffs, averaging 8.3 per game. Duncan Robinson and Butler took 42.2 percent of the team’s dribble handoffs, averaging 3.5 per game. There was a huge gap between Robinson and Butler and the rest of the roster when it came to dribble-handoff possessions. The next closest teammate in the category was Kendrick Nunn, who averaged 1.4 per game.

On the other hand, the Heat were 22nd in pick and rolls, averaging 17.9 per game. Butler accounted for 36.9 percent of the team’s pick and rolls as he averaged 6.6 per game. The structure of the Miami Heat offense led to the rest of the roster having to spend a significant amount of minutes as floor spacers.

For example, Nunn took 48.6 percent of his shots from behind the arc as he averaged 5.7 per game. More than 70 percent of those threes were catch and shoots as he averaged 4.2 per game.

Beal has the tools to excel as a floor spacer as he has made 40.4 percent of his catch and shoot threes on 3.9 attempts per game. Catch and shoots have accounted for 62.3 percent of his shots, as he has shot 37.6 percent from behind the arc since 2013 on 6.2 attempts per game.

One potential downside to pairing Bradley Beal up with Jimmy Butler on the Miami Heat

Although Beal can excel in the floor spacer role, he would have to sacrifice some of his game to play alongside Butler. Beal’s best season came during the 2020-21 season when he combined his on-ball skills with his off-ball skills.

Beal averaged 9.1 pick and rolls per game, shooting 47.8 percent from the field on 7.1 shots per game. The shooting percentage allowed him to average 8.8 points per game: 28.1 percent of his scoring output.

Beal complemented his on-ball skills with off-ball success as he converted 38.7 percent of his catch and shoots on 3.3 attempts per game. Catch and shoots accounted for 53.2 percent of his total attempts as he shot 34.9 percent from behind the arc on 6.2 attempts, which allowed him to average 6.6 points per game from behind the arc, 21.1 percent of his scoring output.

More from Miami Heat

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Report: Miami Heat hoping to keep key player out of Lillard trade talks
• Grade the Trade: The Heat pass on Lillard to land an MVP in this proposal
• NBA Rumors: Heat have big plans to upgrade frontcourt if they land Lillard

Unfortunately, Beal isn’t going to spend a lot of time on the ball in Miami due to the deficiencies of Butler. Butler has declined as a shooter since 2019. Before 2019, he shot 37.5 percent outside of the restricted area on 9.7 shots per game.

However, at the start of 2019, Butler suffered a sprained right wrist. The injury has played a role in him seeing a decline in his shooting. He has shot 34.5 percent outside of the restricted area since 2019 on 8.1 shots per game.

Butler’s deficiencies have contributed to other players seeing a significant decrease in their primary ball-handler time. For example, Victor Oladipo saw a 49.3 percent decrease in his pick and roll possessions upon arriving in Miami, going from 7.5 to 3.8 per game.

Oladipo spent most of his time as a floor spacer as he took 39.5 percent of his shots from behind the arc averaging 4.3 per game. 93 percent of his threes were catch and shoots as Oladipo averaged 4 per game.

More importantly, if Miami chose to have Beal as a primary ball-handler for a portion of the game, defenders would leave Jimmy Butler wide open because they know that he struggles to shoot the basketball outside the restricted area. The strategy of leaving Butler open increases the likelihood that Beal would see an uptick in his contested shots.

In conclusion, Beal would be an ideal fit alongside Butler, but he would have to sacrifice some of his game to make it work.