Heat reportedly didn't view Bradley Beal as a significant upgrade on Tyler Herro
The Miami Heat reportedly didn't have any interest in acquiring Bradley Beal during the offseason. The St. Louis native joined the Phoenix Suns earlier this offseason. The Heat reportedly spent the summer chasing Damian Lillard, only for the All-Star guard to join the Milwaukee Bucks.
According to ESPN's Zach Lowe, the Heat overlooked Beal as they didn't view him as a significant upgrade over Tyler Herro. Beal has been one of the genuine stars of the Eastern Conference over the past few years but is arguably entering the final stages of his prime, whereas Herro is still developing into the player he can become.
“From what I heard, the Heat looked at that situation and said, ‘We don’t think Bradley Beal, who’s...seven years older than Tyler Herro, is $30 million better than Tyler Herro going forward. We just don’t think the upgrade is worth it,'” Lowe said.
After missing out on Lillard, the Heat are project to be a weakened roster. Pat Riley allowed two important contributors to leave this summer in Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, who joined the LA Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively. Beal would have been a huge addition for the Heat, had he been available after Lillard was sent to Milwaukee.
Nevertheless, Miami will now be waiting for the next star player to become available for a trade.
Bradley Beal is best friends with Jayson Tatum
Another surprise in Bradley Beal joining the Phoenix Suns was that he chose to head out to the Western Conference. In recent seasons, Beal has been linked with a trade to the Boston Celtics, primarily due to his close friendship with Boston's superstar forward Jayson Tatum.
Tatum and Beal grew up together in St. Louis. Beal is older than Tatum and acted as a mentor when the Celtics star was still in high school, and later during his tenure at Duke University.
During a 2022 interview with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks, Beal discussed his friendship with Tatum, and credited Tatum for being a high-quality human being:
"I love this man. It's surreal. That's dope...o me, my older brother was my favorite player, outside of the GOATS. I didn't have that image of what a pro was like going through that phase. That was my way of learning. It's funny that he talks about my AAU team because he was part of that. That just speaks volumes of his character and it's who he is."
Nevertheless, Beal and Tatum will now be facing off when the Phoenix Suns and Celtics go head-to-head, and a potential NBA finals matchup could await. Phoenix and Boston are two of the strongest teams in the NBA this season.