Getty Miami Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson reacts during a first-round playoff bout with the Atlanta Hawks.
With Bradley Beal opting out of the final year of his deal in DC — a likely precursor to him re-upping with the Wizards on a five-year deal worth almost $250 million — a segment of the Miami Heat fanbase is bemoaning the loss of a player the team never had.
While Heat Nation gets all hot and bothered about would-be acquisitions, though, team president Pat Riley also has questions to answer about his own free agents and contracted players.
Case in point: Duncan Robinson, who went from being a core player and signing a massive extension to losing his stroke and riding the pine during the playoffs.
Although some would say that the sharpshooter can bounce back in 2022-23, a league exec recently gave Heavy.com‘s Sean Deveney a contrasting appraisal of the situation. “They’ve got too many other options and too many other guys they need to pay,” the exec said. “If you can get off his money, you will take it.”
To that end, here’s one deal that would get the job done while netting Miami a pair of intriguing backcourt pieces.
Beasley to South Beach
The same exec floated Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley as a prime candidate to take Robsinson’s spot in South Beach, saying “You could swap those guys. I think playing in Miami could turn Beasley around a little bit.”
As such, we’re pitching the following deal between Minnesota and Miami:
- Miami Heat receive G Malik Beasley and G Jaylen Nowell
- Minnesota Timberwolves G/F Duncan Robinson and a 2023 first-round pick
By making this move, Riley and the Heat would rid themselves of Robinson’s terrible contract, which runs through the 2025-26 campaign (he as a final-year option worth $19.6 million). Beasley, meanwhile, will make $15.4 million in ’22-23, after which he has a team option worth $16.5 million.
He’s also three years younger than Robinson and considerably more versatile on both ends of the court, which is huge for a team with title aspirations like the Heat. It’s not hard to envision him filling a role similar to what we saw from Victor Oladipo down the stretch, minus the age/injury/fit concerns.
Miami also adds a prospect in Nowell who has already shown some chops at the NBA level. Last season, the soon-to-be 23-year-old averaged 8.5 points and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 39.4% from deep.
As for Robinson, he would bring his elite-level floor-spacing to a Wolves team that made a league-high 14.8 three-pointers per game last season. And Minnesota is also rewarded with a valuable pick for taking on his bloated deal.
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Beasley Found Himself Late Last Season
Although the 25-year-old Beasley scored a respectable 12.1 points per game for the Wolves in ’21-22, he matched Robinson with a sub-40% connection rate from the field. That said, the baller’s late-season efficiency bump bodes well for his future prospects.
While Robinson was playing himself out of Coach Spo’s rotation, Beasley was playing his best ball of the campaign. Over a 24-game stretch from February 3 to April 1, he rocked shooting splits of 45-46-91. Those kinds of numbers could be transformative for a Heat offense that sputtered at times during postseason play.
He also elevated his game on the defensive end, an area where Robinson has looked inept since entering the Association.
“He stopped worrying about his misses, he stopped worrying about his minutes, he stopped worrying about his opportunities. He started worrying about just finding his game in the flow of what we were doing and then guarding and doing all the little pieces that we needed everybody to do,” said Wolves coach Chris Finch, via the Star Tribune.
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