Bradley Beal Trade: Have Knicks Fallen Out of Contention?

Contenders for the current Washington Wizards star have reportedly emerged, but the New York Knicks are nowhere to be found in a recent report.

The Bradley Beal sweepstakes appear to be heating up ... literally.

A report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, who describes the situation as "developing," lists the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns as teams that Beal's current employers, the Washington Wizards, have engaged in "serious talks" about a trade. Absent from the list are the New York Knicks, who have reportedly inquired about a potential Beal deal long before reports of the Wizards finally being willing to barter emerged this week.

Beal, set to turn 30 later this month, would be an intriguing addition to either Miami or Phoenix, each of whom has fallen games short of a championship in recent seasons. Knicks fans hardly need a reminder of the Heat's recent run of success, which torched New York en route to the most recent NBA Finals, besting them in six games before falling to the Denver Nuggets in the championship round in five. It was the Heat's second unsuccessful Finals visit over the last four years, previously dropping the finale of the Walt Disney World bubble endeavor to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

Charania's report emerges as the top option for Beal's services comes shortly after another insider, Marc Stein, said that Miami was "widely regarded" as the favorite to bring Beal aboard.

Meanwhile, the Suns are reeling from a disappointing finish to the most recent season, falling in one-sided fashion to the eventual champion Nuggets despite adding superstar Kevin Durant at the trade deadline. Phoenix bid farewell to Detroit-bound Monty Williams after the season, welcoming in Frank Vogel (the head coach of the Lakers' aforementioned championship group). 

If the Knicks are truly removed from the Beal discussion, it could wind up being a blessing in disguise: there's no doubt that Beal has established himself as one of the Association's most potent shooting and scoring threats (averaging 27 points on over 47 percent shooting over the last five seasons) but his health (missing 72 games over the past two) will likely make team pause at the idea of taking on his contract that still has over $200 million in guaranteed money left to bestow over the next four years.

The Knicks' prior offseason (dropping out of the Donovan Mitchell trade discussions) was defined by a sense of relative restraint. Dealing for Beal (and that big contract) would be another unnecessary form of hitting fast forward on the current process. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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