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The Miami Heat has been linked to Bradley Beal more times than James Harden to King of Diamonds. The rumor mill wants the Wizards star on the first plane out of Washington, preferably to South Beach. But that doesn’t appear to be what Beal wants.
Beal hasn’t requested a trade and doesn’t plan to in the near future, according to The Athletic. Shams Charania and Fred Katz both cited sources saying that Beal is “privately frustrated and confused with the perpetual portrayal of his situation.” They also spoke with a rival NBA executive who confirmed the Wizards have no desire to move the two-time All-Star guard.
Remember, Beal inked a two-year max contract extension with Washington in 2019. The 27-year-old talked about wanting to retire in his No. 3 Wizards jersey at the time and there is no indication those feelings have changed. Quite the contrary.
In fact, Beal has become increasingly annoyed by the media trying to start a controversy by analyzing his body language. It’s pure speculation based on the Wizards (4-12) owning the worst record in the NBA. Beal has not asked for a trade.
“It’s tough. We wanna win. I wanna win,” Beal said after dropping 47 points last week in a loss. “This is why I stayed. I wanna win (here). I figure this is the place I can get it done.”
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PJ Tucker Still Trade Option for Heat?
There were reports linking the Heat to Rockets forward PJ Tucker back on Jan. 14. Houston is likely to lose him after the season, so they would probably prefer to move him and get something back in return. Tucker would certainly fill a need in Miami, but does the franchise have the assets to give up in a trade? And do they want to invest in a 35-year-old aging role player?
The quick answer is it all depends on the asking price. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Rockets are looking for a haul in a trade: “they either want a first-round pick or three seconds.” He goes on to list the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors as the only teams who could possibly put that kind of package together.
However, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype threw the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics into the mix as well. Heat president Pat Riley would have to get really creative in any trade since the franchise only has one second-rounder until 2027 and can’t trade a first-rounder until 2025.
Tucker would be a nice complementary piece for a team in win-now mode, though. Several of his Rockets teammates have been crowing about his value, including All-Star John Wall.
“PJ may not show up in the stat sheets,” Wall said, “but all of the stuff he does and communicating on the defensive end and taking that challenge, that’s a guy you want to have on your team. What he does for our team is what we need, and he has that veteran presence to take the challenge against anybody, battling and getting rebounds.”
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