Heat Reportedly Discussed Bradley Beal Trade, Could Target SG If Bought Out by Suns

The Miami Heat had "exploratory dialogue" with the Phoenix Suns about acquiring shooting guard Bradley Beal before trade talks "ultimately collapsed," per Marc Stein and Jake Fischer for the Stein Line newsletter.

If the Suns end up buying out the remainder of Beal's contract, then both the Heat and Milwaukee Bucks would reportedly have interest in acquiring him in free agency, according to the Stein Line duo.

The 32-year-old Beal averaged 17.0 points on 49.7 percent shooting (38.6 percent from three), 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 53 games (38 starts) last year. Beal is owed $53.7 million in 2025-26, and he also has a $57.1 million player option for 2026-27, per Spotrac.

The Stein Line reported that the "rising expectation" is that the Suns could buy out the remainder of Beal's deal. However, there are some caveats to that conclusion.

"Unless Beal surrenders at least $14 million from the nearly $111 million left on his contract over the next two seasons, Phoenix would not have the payroll flexibility to employ the league's waive-and-stretch provision on a Beal buyout like Milwaukee stunningly did with Damian Lillard," the report reads.

"The league's formula on waive-and-stretch arrangements mandates that the payout stretches twice as long as the current contract plus one additional season. So in Beal's case, like Lillard's, that would be five seasons.

A buyout for Beal could potentially be in the $90 million range, per the Stein Line.

The Suns traded for Beal in the summer of 2023 in hopes of forming a big three with he, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. However, that trio led to zero playoff wins in two seasons, and now it's broken up.

Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets as the Suns reform their team, and Beal could very well be on his way out of town as Phoenix fully embraces a rebuild around Booker.

Ultimately, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Beal leave town via a buyout, and if that's the case, it appears the Heat and Bucks (who just engineered a buyout of Damian Lillard themselves) would be interested.