Haynes: Damian Lillard Is Heat's Focus After Bradley Beal Trade to Suns

The Miami Heat reportedly missed out on one star guard, but they are apparently already turning their attention elsewhere.

According to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, the reigning Eastern Conference champions will now "focus" on the pursuit of Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard after the Washington Wizards reportedly agreed to trade Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns.

On Sunday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Washington will trade Beal to the Suns in exchange for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and pick swaps.

The reported agreement comes one day after Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium listed the Heat and Suns as the "two finalists" who were in "serious talks" to acquire Beal.

Washington ended up agreeing to trade him out of the Eastern Conference, which is a difficult blow for a Miami team that could be one impact piece away from getting over the hump and winning a championship after reaching two NBA Finals and three Eastern Conference Finals in the last four years.

Yet Lillard would be an even bigger prize than Beal.

The seven-time All-Star has been with the Trail Blazers his entire career since they selected him with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft. His list of accomplishments includes the 2012-13 Rookie of the Year, seven All-NBA selections, the most points in Portland history and a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

He is a Trail Blazers icon, but Haynes noted there is a "genuine belief this could be the offseason the veteran guard seeks a change of scenery" as he pursues the first championship of his career.

While Lillard will be 33 years old next season and played just 29 games in 2021-22 and 58 games in 2022-23, he was excellent when he was on the court last season on his way to averages of 32.2 points, 7.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds.

Defenders have to account for him well beyond the three-point line, which would create additional space for Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo to attack inside the arc. Throw in highly regarded head coach Erik Spoelstra designing sets for the trio, and Miami's ceiling would be the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

And any Beal discussions would be a distant memory.