Mailbag: Is it realistic to think the Miami Heat can trade for Bradley Beal?
The Miami Herald Heat mailbag is here to answer your questions.
If you weren’t able to ask one this time, send your questions for future mailbags via Twitter (@Anthony_Chiang). You can also email me at achiang@miamiherald.com.
@noFlyzone_1: Bradley Beal a pipe dream for the Heat?
Anthony Chiang: There are a few ways to answer this question. First, are the Wizards even willing to deal Beal, who is their best player and entering his prime at 26 years old? That’s the big question. Beal has two seasons remaining on his contract and will make $27.1 million this upcoming season. In June, Beal said the Wizards’ front office told him he would not be traded. Can things change fast in this league? Sure, but it’s pretty obvious it’s going to take a very good deal for Washington to even think about trading Beal. It’s assumed that any deal involving Washington trading Beal would also include the very expensive contract of point guard John Wall, who will make an average of $42.7 million over the next four seasons and is coming off serious injuries.
That’s where things would get very complicated for the Heat. With Beal and Wall making a combined $65 million next season, the Heat would have to trade at least $52 million in salary to the Wizards if it ended up as a two-team deal. Trading Goran Dragic ($19.2 million), James Johnson ($15.3 million), Kelly Olynyk ($13.1 million) and Dion Waiters ($12.1 million) satisfies that requirement. But the Heat would be giving up four rotation players in this deal for Wall’s big contract and Beal. Making things even harder for Miami, it doesn’t have an unprotected first-round pick to trade until 2028.
Would the Wizards take that deal? Would the Heat take that deal? This would be very complicated to pull off, and that’s not even considering the $138.9 million hard-cap threshold Miami must stay under for the entirety of this upcoming season because of the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade transaction.
One thing we’ve learned about the Heat’s front office, though ... never say never.
@jjayminers: I saw that the Clippers have our 2021 first-rounder along with the recently traded 2023. Can you refresh my memory and remind me of the trade that sent the 2021 first-rounder to LA?
Anthony: Miami’s 2021 first-rounder that Los Angeles owns is one that was included in the trade that acquired Goran Dragic from the Suns in 2015. The 76ers then acquired it from the Suns in a draft-night trade last year before using it in the deal that brought Tobias Harris to Philadelphia this past season.
So, that’s the story of the Heat’s 2021 first-round pick.
