Heat Among Possible Suitors for Wizards’ Bradley Beal

The defending Eastern Conference champion Heat are reportedly on the lookout for another star, and Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal could be among their targets, per Shams Charania and Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

Washington and Beal are said to be exploring trade scenarios, as we relayed here.

But a deal won’t be easy, noted Charania and Robbins. Beal’s five-year, $251 million contract, finalized last summer, includes a no-trade clause — meaning he would have to approve of any deal. He also has a 15-percent trade bonus on his contract.

The Wizards are now under the reign of new head of basketball operations Michael Winger, prompting calls from opposing teams on Beal. Winger has said he has been given the green light from team ownership on a complete rebuild, if that is a path he wants to take.

Right now, it seems Winger has not yet decided, though like most teams this year, he is certainly exploring all options. Starting forwards Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis are also expected to opt out of their contracts and explore free agency.

Meanwhile, the Heat have several pathways to take to improve the roster.

“They have draft picks at their disposal,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast, via RealGM. “And they potentially have tradeable contracts and I think they’re going to go hunting for a star. I don’t know if they’ll get one. I don’t know if it will break their way. … I’m not going to sit here and tell you who it is because I’ll get aggregated. But there are players they are keeping an eye on and they have the ability to do it, especially if the players says ‘Send me to Miami.'”

Story at @TheAthletic: Bradley Beal, Wizards expected to work together on a trade should team officials elect to reset roster – with the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat set to emerge as a prominent potential suitor: https://t.co/TusCHSm6P3

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 14, 2023