Getty Malik Beasley #5 and D'Angelo Russell #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers
The NBA offseason came and went pretty quickly. After a summer of trade rumors and the Miami Heat seemingly playing the waiting game on Kevin Durant or Donovan Mitchell they approach the 2022-23 NBA season with a very similar roster to last season. They lost their starting power forward in PJ Tucker, who is a hard person to replace, and added a rookie developmental player in Nikola Jovic. Caleb Martin looks to be the player tasked with the role of filling Tucker’s shoes for the Heat. Martin lacks some of the size and strength that Tucker had but makes up in shooting and athleticism. Or at least it’s hoped he will.
While the Heat may not have been able to get a deal done during this offseason, don’t count them out of future transactions. They were recently linked to Mo Bamba in a potential midseason trade with the Orlando Magic and even mentioned in a potential reunion for Josh Richardson if he is dealt by the San Antonio Spurs. However, those aren’t the only names floating around for the Heat. They also have been linked to one of multiple players on the trading block from the Utah Jazz.
Could the Heat target Malik Beasley?
The Utah Jazz acquired Malik Beasley from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Rudy Gobert blockbuster trade that made it hard for other teams to get deals done because of the haul that Utah got in return for Gobert. Donovan Mitchell was also traded from the Jazz, and now as they rebuild, just about every player on the Jazz roster could be had if the offer is right. In a recent proposal shared by Bleacher Reports, Zach Buckley, the Heat were seen landing Malik Beasley from the Jazz in his proposal.
Miami Heat receive: Malik Beasley
Utah Jazz receive: Duncan Robinson and Omer Yurtseven
The Jazz are known to be seeking first round picks for multiple players, including Beasley, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe. But perhaps as time goes on, their asking price will go down for the wing player, and adding a player with the upside of Yurtseven could attract the Jazz to make a deal. Buckley hails Beasley’s shooting as the value that Miami could seek to add in the trade.
“With Beasley, Miami would add another wing shooter—you can’t have too many around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo—but also a capable and willing defender. Beasley would have at least a puncher’s chance of snagging a starting spot,” Buckley wrote.
Does the deal make sense?
This is a hard deal to evaluate. It feels like a trade for one bad salary player to another with Duncan Robinson and Beasley’s contract. It helps free up some space for the Heat, but they lose Yurtseven and his potential with it. It also still is unknown how they will use Robinson this upcoming season. If he is a $90 million player that will remain on the bench all season, this could make sense. But if you use him in similar ways you’d use Beasley, it is hard to see this deal filling a hole for the Heat in any major way.