NBA Rumors: Heat Would ‘Receive Serious Consideration’ If Bradley Beal Leaves Wizards, Per ‘Miami Herald’
After failing to reach the Eastern Conference Playoffs in the 2018-19 NBA season, Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal once again became the subject of various trade rumors this summer. The Wizards tried to stop the rumors surrounding Beal by offering him a three-year, $111 million massive contract extension. Unfortunately, that didn’t help as Beal told the Wizards that he will be needing to take some time to decide whether he will sign the contract extension or not.
Bradley Beal’s decision to play the waiting game created a level of discomfort among Wizards’ fans who fear that he could soon follow the footsteps of other NBA superstars and demand a trade from Washington. According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, as of now, Beal hasn’t shown the Wizards any indication that he wants out of the team. However, if Beal decides not to accept the Wizards’ offer and tests the free agency market in the summer of 2021, an “associate” told Jackson that the Miami Heat would “receive serious consideration” from the All-Star shooting guard.
“Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal, a top Heat target as 2021 free agency approaches, hasn’t decided whether to accept Washington’s three-year, $111 million extension or what his long-term future holds, an associate said this week. Agent Mark Bartelstein (who is not the aforementioned associate) said Wednesday there is ‘nothing new’ regarding whether Beal has made a decision. But if Beal decides to move on from Washington and become a free agent in 2021, the associate — who requested anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak on Beal’s behalf — said he expects the Heat to receive serious consideration.”
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— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) August 21, 2019
It’s definitely a nice thing to hear for the Heat that Beal is seriously considering Miami as a potential landing spot in the 2021 NBA free agency. As Jackson noted, the Heat love Beal and have long been eyeing him to add to their roster. However, the Heat don’t seem to have the patience to wait for Beal to become an unrestricted free agent.
Since the successful acquisition of Jimmy Butler, Miami has been active on the trade market, searching for a second superstar, and Bradley Beal is among their top targets. Jackson revealed that there’s a growing belief that the Heat are willing to absorb the remaining four-years and $171 million left on John Wall’s contract just to convince the Wizards to send Beal to Miami. Unfortunately, as of now, the Wizards look determined to build a title-contending team, and they are looking to do that around Beal instead of undergoing a full-scale rebuild.
