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Entering an offseason that may not yet be here if not for Jimmy Butler‘s late, clanged three-pointer during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat have some things to address. In particular, there are issues on the offensive side of the court, where the well ran dry at various junctures this postseason.
As it stands, Miami’s offensive rating of 110.7 ranks as the No. 9 mark during the current playoff run.
Having said that, so long as Erik Spoelstra is on the bench in South Beach and the Godfather, Pat Riley, is the team’s top exec, it’s defense-first for the Heat.
To that end, an NBA executive just namechecked one of the league’s ultimate lockdown defenders — who also happens to be a career 38% three-point shooter — as a player Miami has designs on prying from his current team.
Exec: Heat Infatuated With Patrick Beverley
In speaking with Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney, the Eastern Conference exec relayed the following:
“The Heat would love to get Patrick Beverley. The Timberwolves, obviously, they love what he brought last year, but if they could sell high, they might be willing to give him up. They have a new regime [ex-Nuggets president Tim Connelly] there, so they can look at things a little more realistically.”
This past season, the 33-year-old Beverley averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest, with shooting splits of 41-34-72
Perhaps no player in the Association comes close to matching Butler’s steam in the wild dude department as the Wolves guard, whose own reputation as a hard-nosed baller is the stuff of legend. Seeing the two join forces would be a shocker, though. Especially after Pat Bev said Butler “can’t be the best player” on a title team.
Still, there seems to be a significant amount of fire behind the smoke here.
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Making the Deal
As noted by the exec, Riley has something of a history as an appreciator of Beverley’s game. “Remember, he drafted Beverley back in the day and they almost kept him on in camp before he went overseas,” the exec said, before adding: “He’s tried trading for him before.”
Finding the right deal for both Minnesota and Miami has its challenges, though.
“Problem is, they want a bit more in a deal for Duncan Robinson and they can’t put together a very good package without him,” the exec opined. “Robinson is down, stock-wise, around the league but Miami has his value higher than other teams do.”
Still, where there’s a will, there might just be a way.
“If Minnesota put a future first-round pick, 2025 or something, and a role player like Jarrod Vanderbilt, with Miami sending back Duncan Robinson and one of their young bench guys, like [Omer] Yurtseven…”
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