For a moment, it felt as if the Miami Heat were a likely landing spot for Bradley Beal. As Beal and the Phoenix Suns continue to work toward finalizing a buyout agreement, the Heat, being desperate for any move, appeared to be inching toward signing the former All-Star guard. Or at least that's what many speculated was taking place. Instead, the Heat made another big move, which helped the team avoid a potential Beal disaster scenario this season.
In what ended up being a huge surprise, the Heat proactively traded Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson as part of a three-team trade in exchange for super sixth man Norman Powell. It's a move that accomplished everything the Heat had hoped it would in a potential move for Beal, and then some.
Now that the Heat have theoretically eliminated themselves as a possible Beal landing spot (after opting for a Powell trade instead), he's likely to sign with another contender. It's a move that will likely end up aging like fine wine for the Heat.
Why Beal could've been a disaster for Miami
Even though the Heat landing the "name" would've been a welcome sight for fans, this is a move that could've been a true disaster for the team. Powell may not be an All-Defensive player at this point in his career, but he certainly offers more on that end of the floor than Beal at the moment.
Sure, the Heat would've theoretically improved as a team on the offensive end of the floor, but playing Beal and Tyler Herro at the same time in the backcourt would've been a nightmare for the team's defense.
And to be quite honest, I'm not sure if Beal's offense at this stage of his career makes up that much for how much they'd suffer on the other end of the floor. In fact, the argument can be made that Powell was the more efficient offensive player, while also being more productive than Beal last season. It remains to be seen if the team expects Powell to embrace a starter role this season, but he's proven to be a great sixth man as well.
If the Heat wanted to experiment with some Herro-Powell starting units, it'd probably have a better chance of succeeding.
From name recognition alone, there probably aren't many casual fans who would suggest Powell is better than Beal right now, but he is. And considering Beal's injury history and how much he's struggled over the last few years of his career, the Heat probably made a great decision to not wait on Beal and being proactive in their move for Powell.