Bradley Beal has become one of the best scorers in the entire NBA. However, since the Washington Wizards are absolutely awful, there have been many people wondering if a team could trade for Beal. In October, Beal signed a contract extension with the Washington Wizards. However, before that, he reportedly considered signing with one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat. 

Bradley Beal has become a star in the NBA

Coming into the NBA out of Florida, Bradley Beal proved to teams that he had a lot of potential. This led to the Washington Wizards selecting him with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. 

In his rookie season, Beal showed glimpses of stardom as he averaged 13.9 points per game. Beal then took a big step production-wise in 2013-14 when he averaged 17.1 points per game, but then took a slight step back in 2014-15 with 15.3 points per game. 

In 2015-16, Bradley Beal scored 17.4 points per game for the Wizards. Since 2016-17, though, he has been one of the best scorers in the entire NBA. Beal scored 23.1 points per game that season. Then after scoring 22.6 points in 2017-18, and earning his first All-Star selection, Beal averaged 25.6 points per game in 2018-19.

This year, Beal was having the best season of his career. He was averaging 30.5 points per game to go with 4.2 rebounds and a career-high 6.1 assists.

The Washington Wizards are not good

During Bradley Beal’s first few seasons with the Wizards, the team was actually pretty good. In Beal’s second season in 2013-14, the Wizards went to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They then went to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for a second consecutive season in 2014-15. 

After missing the playoffs in 2015-16, the Wizards won the most games they had won since 1978-79 in 2016-17 when they went 49-33. The team, however, still lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Then after losing in the First Round the next season, the Wizards have since been really bad the last two years. They went 32-50 in 2018-19, and the Wizards were 24-40 this year before the league suspended its season.

Because of the Wizards being so bad in the last two seasons, people have wondered if Beal will be available for trade soon. Last month, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reported that the Brooklyn Nets have internally discussed trying to acquire Beal. However, Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein shut down the rumors. He said, “There are no Beal Sweepstakes and that’s why he re-signed with the Wizards,” according to Bleacher Report.

If Beal were ever to get traded, though, could it be to the Miami Heat?

Beal reportedly considered signing with the Miami Heat

Bradley Beal would need to be traded to another team, instead of signing with one, because he signed a two-year contract extension with the Wizards in October. He still has one year left on his current contract, though. That means that the extension actually starts in the 2021-22 season, according to NBA.com. He, however, has a player option for the 2022-23 season. So, he could decline the option in the summer of 2022, according to Sports Illustrated.

Before signing the extension with the Wizards, Beal reportedly considered another team. He actually, reportedly, considered signing with the Heat. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote a piece looking at players the Heat could potentially acquire in the somewhat near future. He ranked Beal as the third-most possible option behind Victor Oladipo and Jrue Holiday.

This is what he said about Beal. 

“Beal has repeatedly said he’s committed to the Wizards, but expressed frustration with losing last season and told me that he considered the Heat before committing long-term to Washington last October. He holds the Heat in high regard.”

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald

Signing with the Heat would not have been possible until next offseason as Beal still had two years left on his current contract before signing the extension with the Wizards. Also, Jackson did mention that Beal would now need to be traded if the Heat were to acquire him before the summer of 2022.

That report is interesting, though. So, no matter how long Beal stays with the Wizards, he holds the Heat in high regard. That could prove to be big for them in the future.

From what it looks like right now, Beal will most likely stay on the Wizards for at least the next two seasons (not counting this year). If he were to join Jimmy Butler on the Miami Heat at some point, though, the Heat could instantly become favorites in the Eastern Conference.

Stats courtesy of Basketball Reference