Last year, the Washington Wizards moved on from shooting guard Bradley Beal after 11 seasons with the team. In a blockbuster trade, the Wizards sent Beal to the Phoenix Suns. Now, over a year after the trade, the 31-year-old shed some light on the trade process from his perspective. Additionally, Beal revealed that he was initially expecting to go to the Miami Heat and that the Suns were not “in the picture for [him] to go to.”
In a recent interview on the Run Your Race podcast (YouTube link), Beal spoke about his trade to Phoenix. During the interview, Beal revealed he thought he would end up with the Heat. Additionally, he mentioned that the Milwaukee Bucks were a potential destination for him. However, per Beal, the Bucks would have traded Khris Middleton for him, which was not something he was on board with.
“My transition to Phoenix was like a complete 360. First off, Phoenix wasn’t even in the picture for me to go to. It wasn’t. That was a fly ball that came out of left field. I was just chilling. I was waiting on Miami to hit me a grounder, or Milwaukee, you know? Those were kind of like my two options. Miami didn’t want to do it, whatever reason, didn’t know why. Milwaukee, I was like, ah, I was straddling the fence. I didn’t really like that they were trading Khris Middleton.”
Bradley Beal Expected to Go to the Miami Heat in 2023
Bradley Beal’s First Year With the Phoenix Suns
Last season, Beal appeared in 53 games for the Suns. In those games, he averaged 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal. Additionally, he shot 51.3% from the field and a career-high 43% from beyond the arc.
When the Suns acquired Beal, the expectation was they would be one of the best teams in the NBA. Paired alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, Beal was meant to provide the Suns with an extra elite scorer. In turn, this would have pushed Phoenix back into legitimate title contention. Ultimately, due to injuries, the Suns were a bit disappointing. They ended the season with a 49-33 record, which was a four-win improvement from the 2022-23 campaign. However, they earned the No. 6 seed and lost in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a four-game sweep.
Last season did not go as well for Beal or the Suns as many thought. However, with new head coach Mike Budenholzer, there is an expectation that the team will improve this season.
The Last Word On Bradley Beal and the Miami Heat
Beal joining the Heat certainly would have been interesting. Last offseason, the Heat were a top candidate to land Damian Lillard, who ultimately got traded to Milwaukee. It is interesting to think about how different every team involved would look had the Heat acquired Beal instead of the Suns. Landing Beal would have given the Heat another elite scorer who has playoff experience. It is unclear how good of a fit he would have been in Miami, but it is still an interesting hypothetical nonetheless.
