Miami Heat could be on their way to improve their championship-caliber roster by adding Washington Wizards superstar Bradley Beal.
Beal’s offseason is going to be one of the most interesting, as he could be a free agent by the end of the 2021-22 NBA season. That’s if he elects not to pick his option for the 2022-23 season, worth $36M.
According to Shams Charania of the Athletic, Beal is a ”legitimate suitor” to join the Miami Heat if he decides to leave Washington. Charania suggests the Heat would prefer a potential sign-and-trade deal for the scoring star, who was the second-leading scorer in the NBA last season.
In that case, the Heat are going to have to offload players to create the space. In that case, Tyler Herro could be on his way out as he’s expected to demand a max-contract from Miami next season.
If Beal becomes available, maybe the Heat will not be willing to add Herro’s potential lucrative deal to their limited cap space. The Heat have a veteran, championship-ready core in Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry.
The Heat are currently right at the top of the Eastern Conference, but prior seasons suggest that another star would take them from contenders to possibly favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.
If they can add Beal without giving up much regarding their core veteran pieces, then East will become a more star-heavy team alongside Milwaukee, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Boston.
Beal has been ruled out for the season with a torn ligament in his left wrist. He underwent surgery in February, and he will be healthy for the 2022 offseason.
He was averaging just 23.2 points per game after scoring over 30 in each of the past two seasons. He finished the season shooting a career-low 30 percent from behind the arc.
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