Phoenix Suns' Bradley Beal Says The Miami Heat Were His Preferred Trade Destination

The Miami Heat spent all offseason chasing All-Star guard Damian Lillard but lost out on him to the Milwaukee Bucks.

During all of this, they missed on another potential trade target. Former Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal said he was interested in playing for the Heat. Instead, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns so he could team with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

“So, my initial favorite was Miami," Beal said in an interview with Andscape. "And so, we call Miami. [Miami president] Pat [Riley] says well I’ll go talk to [owner] Micky [Arison] and figure it out. So he goes, talks to Micky, we go, we hear back [New York] Knicks, Sacramento, Brooklyn a little bit, and then it was Milwaukee and it was one more big team … And that was kind of one of the most difficult things about every trade and every team. And I respect and love every team, but a lot of them just couldn’t do it because the money was just so high."

Beal said he landed with Suns even though they were a darkhorse candidate.

I’m like, ‘OK, what’s Miami doing? Dragging feet.’ And eventually it came to a point to where Miami said they just can’t do it," Beal said. "But it was an eye-opener for sure. And that’s why I said I went into everything kind of open-minded and with an open slate. And out of nowhere here comes a dark horse in Phoenix and their aggressiveness pushed me over the top.”

Is Bradley Beal A Good Fit For Miami Heat During Free Agency?

Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

TWITTER: @ShandelRich

Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

Subscribe to our YouTube channel here

For any Heat or NBA questions, please email shandelrich@gmail.com