Bradley Beal Trade: Are Knicks 'Widely Regarded' Favorites?

The polarizing idea of trading for Bradley Beal has generated a series of elite suitors, including the New York Knicks.

A favorite has emerged in conjuring up a potential Bradley Beal deal, which has taken over the NBA's early offseason headlines. 

The New York Knicks have made no secret about wanting to acquire an established star to work with growing franchise face Jalen Brunson and the current Washington Wizards scoring sensation has been linked to the team in the past. For the time being, however, NBA insider Marc Stein hints that the Knicks may be trailing an old yet recent enemy. 

Stein lists Knicks as one of the primary contenders for Beal's services (as well as the rising Sacramento Kings), but the Miami Heat are "widely regarded" as the top suitor. Already armed with the services of Jimmy Butler, the Heat disposed of the Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference's second round en route to an appearance in the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Denver Nuggets in six games. 

Adding Beal would be a major step in trying to overcome South Beach's championship shortcomings: the Heat have been to the conference finals in three of the past four seasons and the NBA Finals twice but have yet to add to their Larry O'Brien Trophy case. This season saw the Heat become just the second No. 8 seed to reach the Finals, joining the 1999 Knicks.

Beal has become equally renowned for his loyalty to the Wizards and his issues staying healthy, having not played more than 60 games since the 2018-19 season. His contract is one of the more unique in the NBA as it's armed with over $250 million in salary and a no-trade clause, though Stein's report says that Miami would be one of the teams that the soon-to-be-30-year-old would be interested in moving to.

It's still very early in the offseason process, but Beal's future will undoubtedly be one of the headlines. Even with the big risks involved in such a deal, the Knicks should be linked to the current Wizard throughout the process.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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