NBA Trade Rumors: John Wall, Bradley Beal Would Be ‘High-Risk, High Reward Megadeal’ For Miami Heat
Since the successful acquisition of Jimmy Butler in the 2019 NBA free agency period, the Miami Heat have been frequently linked to several NBA superstars who are expected to be available on the trade market before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline. The arrival of Butler would undeniably boost the Heat’s performance on both ends of the floor but with only one legitimate NBA superstar on their roster, it remains a big question mark if Miami is capable of fully dominating the Eastern Conference and contending for the NBA championship in the 2019-20 NBA season.
In his recent article, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report suggested multiple trade scenarios that would enable the Heat to give Butler some help in the coming season. According to Buckley, the potential deal that would send Bradley Beal and John Wall of the Washington Wizards to Miami would be a “high-risk, high reward megadeal” for the Heat, especially since Miami has long been interested in Beal.
The Heat reportedly love Beal so much that they are willing to absorb the injured Wall and the four years and $171 million left on his contract in the potential deal with the Wizards. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald noted, there’s an internal belief that the Heat are capable of bringing Wall back to All-Star level once he fully recovers from his Achilles injury. When all of them are healthy, the projected Heat’s “Big Three” of Wall, Beal, and Jimmy Butler would undoubtedly turn Miami from an average playoff team to a legitimate title contender in the Eastern Conference.
In the proposed trade deal by Bleacher Report, the Heat would be sending a trade package including Goran Dragic, James Johnson, Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters, Meyers Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr., and a 2022 second-round pick to the Wizards in exchange for Bradley Beal and John Wall. If the trade becomes a reality, it would not be beneficial for the Heat, but also for the Wizards.
“Washington would receive a get-out-of-salary-cap-hell-free card with only limited long-term money coming back, the most significant of which is tied to Winslow, who’s also the crown jewel of the incoming package. If he becomes the next starting point guard, this group would have tons of size, length and athleticism to throw at opposing offenses. Jones might be the only other keeper, although a healthy Waiters could conceivably attain that status, too. Dragic and Leonard could become trade candidates this season, while James Johnson might emerge as one in the next.”
Aside from freeing a huge chunk of their salary cap space, the Wizards would also be acquiring a young and promising talent in Winslow who could be part of their long-term future. If the Wizards already decide to undergo a rebuilding process, they could use the expiring contracts of Dragic and Leonard as trade chips to acquire more future draft assets before the February trade deadline.
