MIAMI — Typically there is plenty to unpack after a team completes a two-month playoff run that ends in the NBA Finals, three victories short of a championship.
So there the Miami Heat were on Wednesday morning at Kaseya Center, completing exit interviews, when confirmed word came out about the Washington Wizards granting Bradley Beal permission to seek trade options, with the Heat among those linked to the former All-Star.
That was after Damian Lillard the previous week was linked to the Heat through comments he made about his future in a podcast.
So no time to unpack. Rather, in an instant, before Erik Spoelstra and nine players met with the media, the need to consider how to repackage. Because the NBA Draft, a vortex of NBA trade activity, is Thursday, with NBA free agency opening exactly a week later.
So, diving back in less than a week from when the ball still was bouncing for the Heat, a few considerations on what now has to be considered.
Bradley Beal: There are two elements in play here.
First, is the, “Bradley Beal is available!” aspect. He is, after all, an elite-level, professional-grade scorer capable of scoring at all three levels, ranging from the 3-point line to the mid-range to the rim.
But then comes the contract. Beal is due $46.7 million next season, followed by guaranteed salaries of $50.2 million in 2024-25, $53.7 million in 2025-26, with a player option for $57.1 million in 2026-27. (Beal also holds a 15% trade kicker, as well as a trade-approval provision that will travel with him).
So as good as Beal is, would he be better than Jimmy Butler? Because he will earn more next season than Butler.
Better than Bam Adebayo? Because next season Beal will earn $14 million more than Adebayo.
In a salary-cap, luxury-tax league, money matters. Beal’s salary next season will be at 34.9% of the salary cap.
That’s a huge percentage for a largely one-dimensional player.
Which leads us to …
Damian Lillard: This is not as clear-cut as with Beal, with Lillard without a trade clause in his contract and subject to the Portland Trail Blazers’ whims.
The Blazers could go a long way toward quashing rumors, and therefore sating Lillard, by trading the No. 3 pick on Thursday for proven veteran talent. Zach LaVine? Karl-Anthony Towns? Deandre Ayton? A package of win-now components?
Otherwise, this seemingly would stand as the more attractive option for the Heat. While Lillard is under contract for $45.6 million this coming season, the only other year on his deal is for $48.8 million in 2024-25.
Plus, as more of a point guard, Lillard could address an area of need for the Heat with skills beyond scoring.
Still, with the Heat with limited trade resources, it leads us to . . .
Tyler Herro: We addressed this last week in this space, how Herro would stand as the logical starting point for any Heat mega-deal this offseason, if for no reason other than he becomes trade eligible with the full heft of his four-year, $130 million extension starting July 1. (And, keep in mind, timing elements come into play with many aspects of Heat machinations, with Lillard unable to be dealt until July 9.)
Plus, there now is the seeming unease between player and team, after Spoelstra bypassed playing Herro in Game 5 of the NBA Finals after Herro had been cleared following two months of relentless rehab from hand surgery.
To cut to the chase: The perspective here is Herro should not be included in a Heat bid for Beal. As considerable as Herro’s extension stands, with guaranteed salaries of $27 million, $29 million, $31 million and $33 million, those numbers still are considerably less than what Beal is guaranteed in those seasons ($24 million less in the final year).
By contrast, swapping Herro in a Lillard deal actually saves cap space on the back end, and would give the Heat a player, in Lillard, who would address a glaring concern at point guard.
Of course, speaking of glaring needs . . .
Brook Lopez: This is a long shot, with the Heat working without cap space and possibly without a mid-level exception, based on where they fall with their luxury tax.
But after watching two weeks of Heat-Denver Nuggets, it served notice of how the Heat would be well served with size.
In Lopez, there would be a floor-spacing 3-point option on offense, but also the type of size and brawn defensively to free Adebayo to play more in his sweet spot as a free safety.
If not Lopez, some sort of facsimile could go a long way toward answering the types of questions the Heat were unable to answer in the NBA Finals.
IN THE LANE
CREDIT DUE: While it ended awkwardly for Herro, being in uniform but not getting into Game 5 of the Finals following his two-month absence due to hand surgery, Spoelstra made a point of noting in his closing comments not to forget how dynamic a fourth-quarter Herro had been during the regular season. “Tyler was really able to show that he can move into the starting role, impact games, particularly in those fourth-quarter moments of truth,” Spoelstra said, with Herro finishing 20th in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring. “He’s a gifted offensive player that can do it at all three levels, but also really improved his playmaking. But what really separates Tyler is fourth-quarter clutch performances and ability to raise his game in those moments of truth.” As a matter of perspective, Lillard finished fourth on that list, Beal ninth.
COMFORT CONNECTION: Spoelstra said among the highlights of his offseason that will include serving as an assistant coach with Team USA at the World Cup in his ancestral home of the Philippines will be the Aug. 12 Basketball Hall of Fame induction of Heat icon Dwyane Wade. Spoelstra said the Wade bond was also present at the Finals. “In Game 4, he actually came on to the floor and said, ‘I just wanted to see you face to face and say good luck, I didn’t want to wave from across the way,’ ” Spoelstra said of that moment at Kaseya Center. “And that’s what makes Dwyane Dwyane. He brings the human part of it, that transcends the game of basketball.”
NURTURING NATURE: Although he did not play a role in the Finals, Heat center Omer Yurtseven was able to utilize the exposure to promote his “Swish For Change” project. The effort promotes the recycling of fishing nets into basketball nets. The effort is in association with SustainableConsumption.Org, which notes that the United Nations estimates by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in oceans. “I’ve been meaning to do some stuff off the court and just focusing on things that I love,” Yurtseven told the Sun Sentinel, “and that was one of the big things, ocean and marine life. I had a friend that was involved in that space that kind of inspired me to take a big leap into it. That they’ve been able to take something that’s a negative and turn it into something positive was the main driving factor.” Yurtseven said he has received samples of the recycled nets. “I’m a little biased,” he said. “But the swish was true with my jumpers.”
TIME HAS COME: Having turned 20 during the Finals, Heat rookie big man Nikola Jovic finally has the time to complete his long-postponed final exams and become a high school graduate in Serbia. Asked if he plans a belated graduation party as well, Jovic said with a smile, “I don’t. All of my friends are already done with that. But as soon as I finish up, I’ll make sure I make something.”
NUMBER
1st. Heat final ranking in the playoffs in deflections (353), loose balls recovered (134) and charges taken (25).