The Miami Heat are still hot on the trail of current Washington Wizard Bradley Beal. What Beal does with their incoming offer will be a beacon for the Heat.
The Miami Heat are still in the market to acquire a star to pair with Jimmy Butler. While there were rumors that they were going after Bradley Beal that started to surface shortly after the Butler deal was consummated, they eventually turned their focus towards Russell Westbrook. This was when it became clear that he was looking to get out of Oklahoma City after the Paul George trade.
Well as we all know by now, the Miami Heat were unsuccessful in acquiring Westbrook from the Thunder as he eventually landed in Houston to reunite with longtime friend and former teammate, James Harden. This immediately reenergized the rumor mills and fanbase alike, where the most obvious thing to do for the Miami Heat would be to reengage in their pursuit of Bradley Beal.
Although there hasn’t been any definitive proof or reports that this was the case, there have been signs and reports that signal in that direction. Here is one of those signs from someone in the know, a tweet from Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson.
Next significant event for Heat could be re-engaging with Wizards if Beal rejects three year, 111 M extension he's eligible to sign after July 26. For now, Wizards have rejected all trade overtures on Beal, a potential 2021 free agent
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) July 17, 2019
Something else that was pondered upon as we all thought about a potential Bradley Beal was the thought of who would actually make that deal on the Wizards’ end, as they didn’t have a General Manager in place up until a day or so ago. They now have a GM in place and he came out firing the big guns. Here is a tweet from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that talks about the Wizards’ new GM and his grand plans for the team moving forward.
With Bradley Beal eligible for a three-year, $111M extension on Friday, Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard tells ESPN: "At the very first moment allowed, we are going to offer Brad the full max..." Story includes reaction from Beal's agent Mark Bartelstein. https://t.co/aJS5JvRak1
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 22, 2019
As Jackson made reference to in his tweet, the best thing to happen for the Miami Heat would be for Beal to refect that offer of a contract extension. If he rejects it, then that would ultimately mean that he doesn’t want to continue to try and make it work in Washington. That would be a welcomed sight for the Miami Heat, as it would give them a ton more leverage to use while attempting to get him.
If he accepts the deal, well that just is exactly what it is. He would be accepting the extension, while also at least saying that he is comfortable in Washington right now. While he could still be traded at some point, it would be unlikely that it would occur until at least after next season if he were to sign the extension.
While Woj does mention that the Wizards would “be willing to do a one- or two-year extension” in his full story on the topic, the best thing for the Wizards would probably be to get him locked up for multiple years. Regardless of which way Beal chooses to go, it will be a beacon for the Miami Heat as far as how they should play the situation moving forward. Beal would be an awesome addition to this Miami Heat team and an awesome player to pair with Jimmy Butler, but we will just have to see how it plays out.