There have been some whispers that Bradley Beal has the Boston Celtics on his radar, but none indicating the other way around. Beal, Jayson Tatum's longtime friend, is not what he used to be, and coming off an injury-plagued season. That would make him an intriguing buy-low candidate. Boston may not take that chance, which could come back to bite them, but at least signs point to Miami reportedly may not either.
The Miami Herald's Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson reported that, post-Giannis trade, Miami talked to Beal earlier, but it doesn't sound like they were serious about him.
"The Heat had a preliminary discussion with the representation for free agent Bradley Beal but hasn’t pursued him vigorously," Ciang and Jackson wrote.
Getting Antetokounmpo will likely renew the Celtics' longstanding rivalry with the Heat, which is why they are trying to add as much help as possible while that window is open. It is somewhat surprising how quiet Beal's market has been after he opted out of his deal with the Clippers, but it's possible everyone is waiting for the LeBron James domino to fall before anything else.
No matter what, even if the Celtics don't want Beal (Mike Conley Jr. could have been a hint that they don't), at least he won't join the enemy that has been a pain for a good chunk of this decade.
But Beal could join a different Celtics enemy
Miami won't be Boston's only competition this coming season. The Celtics will see a lot of revamped competition this season, including New York, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Atlanta, and, let's not forget, Philadelphia.
It's very possible Beal could join any of them, which could be a problem if there's still a good amount of gas in the tank. We really don't know what kind of impact Beal will still have at this stage of his career. Boston proactively picking Conley over Beal may be proof that they believe the former fits better with what they want to do.
That doesn't mean Beal can't be a game-changer even if his All-Star days are very much gone. On paper, he still provides scoring and playmaking. Defensively, well, he's never gotten any accolades for it, for good reason.
The Celtics know the challenges ahead in the Eastern Conference. Whether Beal is by their side or against them, this will be quite an interesting season with Tatum leading the charge.
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