Bradley Beal joined the Phoenix Suns last summer out of nowhere as many, including Beal himself, believed the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks were the leading contenders to land Beal. The former Washington Wizards guard appeared on the ‘Run Your Race’ podcast where he discussed his trade to the Suns, revealing that he also thought he would likely be headed to the Heat or the Bucks that summer.
“Phoenix wasn’t even in the picture really for me to go to. That was a fly ball that came out of nowhere. I’m chilling and waiting on Miami to hit me a grounder, Milwaukee, you know. Those were kinda like my two. Miami didn’t want to do it, for whatever reason I don’t know why.”
Milwaukee I was straddling the fence. I didn’t like that they were trading Middleton, they might hate me telling the story, but whatever. They were trading Middleton but he had a player option, so he had to opt in. I don’t know if he would opt in just to be traded to DC.”
We know the Bucks anyway traded away a franchise cornerstone who helped them win a title. Instead of it being Middleton for Beal, it ended up being Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard in a move that shocked and stunned the NBA.
The Heat were pushing for a Damian Lillard trade themselves at the time and likely had Beal as a backup option. Let’s not forget that Beal has a no-trade clause on a deal with three years and over $160 million left, so that contract would be a massive albatross that the Heat didn’t want on their books going forward.
Holiday won a title with the Boston Celtics this summer, so he ended up happy regardless, though being traded away from the Bucks was a shock to the defensive guard. The Heat didn’t make any moves last summer, waiting till the winter to acquire Terry Rozier in a trade with the Charlotte Hoprnets.
Would The Bucks Have Been Better Off With Bradley Beal?
If Beal ended up being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, that would likely mean that they wouldn’t make a run at Damian Lillard and be able to retain Holiday. A Holiday-Beal backcourt would be solid, with Beal providing the offense that Holiday lacks and Holiday providing the defense that Beal wouldn’t be able to.
Middleton has been on the Bucks for as long as Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the pair being inseparably close after having risen through the ranks together. Trading Holiday was tough for Giannis, but trading Middleton would’ve been much worse given how close Giannis and Khris have been for over a decade on the Bucks.
Trading away Middleton would’ve been an emotionally challenging decision given his friendship with Giannis and long tenure with the franchise, but it would be one that could have worked out in this case. Middleton struggled with injuries for most of last season, so if he had been traded away, he could’ve rehabilitated in peace without rushing back for the Playoffs as he did for the Bucks last season.
Keeping Holiday would have been helpful because that also ensures the Celtics don’t land him while maintaining the defensive structure of the Bucks, something which completely collapsed last season.
Beal averaged 18.2 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.4 rebounds last season, suffering his share of injury issues, but it might have been a better fit to have Beal and Holiday on the squad instead of Lillard and Middleton.
