The Heat finally traded Michael Beasley away, and they didn’t get much in return.
The Miami Heat quickly followed up their triumph in the LeBron James sweepstakes by finding a taker for Michael Beasley.
But they had to virtually give away the No. 2 overall pick from the 2008 draft to do so.
Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that the Heat agreed Thursday night to a trade that will send Beasley to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who can simply absorb Beasley into empty salary-cap space and furnish Miami with additional financial flexibility to continue the dramatic transformation of its roster.
To complete the trade, Minnesota must only part with a 2011 second-round pick to acquire Beasley. The teams have also agreed to a swap of unspecified future first-round picks.
The swap of “unspecified future first-round picks” could be substantial, depending on the details. The T-Wolves will probably be in the lottery while the Heat should be picking near the end of the first round for the rest of the decade, so it could be a meaningful move up for the Heat.
The move clears enough cap space to give LeBron, Wade and Bosh five-year max contracts, though they might take a bit less in order to fit someone like Mike Miller in under the cap. Miami is discussing a sign-and-trade for Bosh to get him an extra year and more money. It will be interesting to see if they go through with it, because it’s going to cost the Heat draft picks that could be used to build a supporting cast around its new ‘Miami Thrice.’
For the T-Wolves, assuming that aforementioned first round pick is well-protected, Beasley is a nice acquisition. He’s just 21 years old and has averaged 14-6 in his first two years in the league. He can play either forward position depending on what kind of offense and tempo the T-Wolves want to play. In the triangle offense, he could be a Lamar Odom point-forward-type.