The Miami Heatfailed to win the NBA championship, mainly because they ran out of gas and weren’t as talented as the Denver Nuggets. Jimmy Butler could only carry them so much.
They were reportedly interested in Bradley Beal. However, they later ruled themselves out of his sweepstakes and gave the Phoenix Suns a clear path to trade for him.
Notably, according to Heat beat writer Ira Winderman, that was all because Pat Riley had set his sight on a bigger prize for the offseason, which happens to be Damian Lillard.
NBA Rumors: Heat Want To Trade For Damian Lillard
“Now the question is whether Pat Riley and the Heat front office hedged their pursuit of Beal because of a greater focus on potentially landing Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard,” Winderman reported.
“Asked about the Heat’s approach with Beal, a party familiar with the talks on Sunday told the South Florida Sun Sentinel to ‘think bigger,'” he added.
Lillard has already expressed his desire to join the Heat if traded by the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Heat could offer up to three first-round picks and Tyler Herro at least, so let’s see if Riley can work his magic again this time.
