The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks are seen as serious contenders for an All-Star guard that could soon hit the trade block.
The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks enter the summer in different yet similar positions. Without a doubt, they are two of the very best teams in the Eastern Conference, yet both must make upgrades if they hope to win an NBA championship in 2024.
Also Read: NBA power rankings for all 30 teams heading into the offseason
The Bucks are in the early stages of a bit of a culture change. After their shocking elimination in the first round of the NBA playoffs, head coach Mike Budenholzer was fired and replaced by first-time coach Adrian Griffin. Plus, the future of key players like Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton is unclear.
When it comes to the Miami Heat, it became abundantly clear in their NBA Finals loss to the Denver Nuggets that they are still one big weapon away from seriously competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy.
While both teams have different questions to answer heading into the summer, they still remain elite squads that are probably another star player away from achieving their ultimate goal, and it seems that both may view the same player as the missing ingredient.
Miami Heat record (’22-’23): 44-38
On Wednesday came the reports that the teams around the NBA believe that the Washington Wizards are very close to going into a full rebuild and could trade away long-time star Bradley Beal. Following the news, The Athletic’s NBA insider Shams Charania revealed that the team and three-time All-Star do have an agreement that they will work to send him to a preferred destination if they begin a rebuild this summer.
However, the truly interesting bit of information revealed in the report is that “sources, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, said the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks are expected to be prominent suitors for Beal if he reaches the market.”
Bradley Beal makes a lot of sense for both the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks. Both teams are strong defensive units that need more offensive firepower to compete with the top-scoring teams in the league. The big question will be, which team has the sort of return that would appeal to the Washington Wizards?
In a separate report, Charania added during an appearance on FanDuel TV that Damian Lillard could also be a target for Miami, along with Beal.