How the Heat could acquire both Lillard and Beal and have a Big Four. The steps needed

The big priority of this Heat offseason is adding a star player who can take some of the scoring load off Jimmy Butler.

But what if the Heat could add two?

There is a path to the Heat acquiring both Portland’s Damian Lillard and Washington’s Bradley Beal, but it would require the cooperation of the Trail Blazers and the Wizards, as well as the two stars pushing their way to Miami.

Lillard hasn’t asked for a trade but has said the Heat would appeal to him if he does. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said this week that it seems like Portland will keep Lillard and that nothing is percolating on the trade front. But Lillard has left open the possibility of asking for a trade if the Blazers do not build their roster into a contender.

Meanwhile, The Athletic reported Wednesday that Beal and the Wizards will work together to find a trade if Washington decides to retool its roster, something the organization is considering. Beal would have interest in the Heat, according to a source.

Lillard is due to make $45.6 million, $48.8 million and $58.5 million over the next three seasons. He has a $63.2 million player option in 2026-27.

Beal is due $46.7 million, $50.2 million and $53.7 million over the next three seasons. He has a $57.1 million player option in 2026-27.

Lillard, 32, is a seven-time All Star who averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game this past season, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 37.1 percent on threes. He was third in the league in scoring and 13th in assists at 7.3 per game.

Beal, 29, is a three-time All Star who averaged 23.2 points and 33.5 minutes per game last season, while shooting a career-high 50.6 percent from the field and 36.5 percent on three-pointers.

Here are the three steps required to snag both Lillard and Beal in trades and have an elite quartet of those two, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo:

▪ Step 1: Somehow get word to both Lillard (or his agent Aaron Goodwin) and Beal (or his agent Mark Bartelstein) that the Heat is trying to pull off both Lillard and Beal trades.

This is the tricky part because NBA rules state that any member of the organization - including coaches, players, executives and owners - cannot speak to a player on rival teams in an attempt to lure him to join their team. So Butler and Adebayo cannot simply call Lillard and Beal, tell them the plan and ask if they’re interested.

This would require back-channels that would not leave the Heat at risk of being punished for tampering.

It could also perhaps be achieved by leaking the plan to the media. To be clear, I’m not writing this piece as part of a clandestine Heat plan to achieve this.

Nobody from the organization has discussed this fantasy hypothetical with me, and it’s unclear to me if the Heat would even be willing to pay a tax bill of at least $85 million that would be unavoidable in this Lillard and Beal scenario.

But doing something this bold, this audacious would be in character for Pat Riley and this organization.

Alerting Lillard and Beal of this hypothetical plan could entice them to push for trades to Miami specifically.

▪ Step 2: Hope that Lillard not only asks for a trade but also asks Portland to deal him to Miami, and that the Blazers acquiesce.

Lillard recently told Showtime and ESPN personality Brian Custer that Miami and Brooklyn would appeal to him. But Lillard would need to implore Portland to send him to Miami, because the Nets have more available first-round picks to trade (11) than Miami (three).

That third Heat first-round pick can be traded if the Heat and Oklahoma City agree to lift protections on a first-round pick owed the Thunder.

So if Lillard asks to be sent to Miami, a trade offer of Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and perhaps three first-round picks would be the logical offer in this scenario.

The combined salaries of Herro ($27 million) and Robinson ($18.1 million) are virtually identical to Lillard’s ($45.6 million), and thus adhere to cap rules.

▪ Step 3: Hope that the Beal - who has a full no trade clause - tells Washington that he will accept a trade only to Miami.

And hope that ESPN’s plugged-in Windhorst was on target when he said this on Wednesday: “If Bradley Beal gets traded between now and next Thursday, I think people are going to be very surprised at the price and potentially how low it’s going to be because his contract is not attractive.”

Windhorst said that if Beal is traded, he suspects “it would be for a fraction” of the price that Minnesota gave Utah for Rudy Gobert and Cleveland gave the Jazz for Donovan Mitchell.

Because of the $208 million due Beal, a Heat offer of the expiring contracts of Kyle Lowry ($29.7 million) and Victor Oladipo ($9.4) would be a good starting point, because even those two combined would cost the Wizards $168 million less than Beal.

Oladipo cannot be traded until he formally exercises a $9.5 million player option for next season; the deadline is June 29. The notion of Oladipo opting out seems unthinkable because his knee injury is expected to sideline him most of next season.

Beal is due to make $46.7 million next season, while Lowry and Oladipo are due a combined $39.7 million. Teams with a payroll above $169 million next season (which the Heat very likely will be) cannot take back money beyond 110 percent of the money they trade out. Conversely, teams under the $162 million tax threshold can take back salaries as much as 125 percent of what they send out.

So to facilitate this hypothetical Lowry/Oladipo/Beal trade from a cap standpoint and make it more appealing for Washington, the Heat also would need to offer either Caleb Martin (due $6.8 million next season) or Nikola Jovic ($2.3 million) and Haywood Highsmith ($1.9 million).

In theory, that wouldn’t seem enough for Beal. But the incentive of dumping Beal’s massive contract - combined with Beal vetoing trades to other teams - ultimately could make that package good enough for the Wizards.

In addition, the Heat could offer to select a player that Washington wants with the 18th pick in next Thursday’s NBA draft. As long as Miami makes the pick, it still has three other first-round picks available to trade for Lillard or whomever else.

This hypothetical Beal deal could not be completed until after Oladipo exercises his opt-in, but the sides could agree to those hypothetical parameters: Beal in exchange for Lowry, Oladipo, Jovic, Highsmith and the player that Miami picks for Washington at 18.

Those two hypothetical trades - with Jovic/Highsmith as the final component and not Martin - would leave the Heat with five players under contract for next season: Butler (due $45.2 million next season), Adebayo ($32.6 million), Lillard ($45.6 million), Beal ($46.7 million) and Martin ($6.8 million).

Their salaries would equal $176.9 million.

If Miami filled its 10 other roster spots with veteran players at minimum salaries, that would leave the Heat’s payroll at $193 million or so.

The NBA, for tax and cap purposes, has used the second-year minimum salary (projected to be $1.6 million next season) even for players with considerably more experience, so that teams aren’t discouraged from signing older veterans.

A payroll of $193 million would create a tax bill of $90 million next season.

If the Heat surrounded Adebayo, Butler, Lillard, Beal and Martin with two undrafted rookies and eight veteran players at the minimum, the payroll would be slightly less and the tax bill would decrease to $85 million or so.

Re-signing free agents Gabe Vincent and Max Strus at deals starting at $10 million - and signing eight players to minimum deals to join Butler, Adebayo, Lillard, Beal and Martin in this scenario - would result in a $210 million payroll and $182 million tax bill. A tax bill that size would seemingly be unpalatable for nearly every owner.

Golden State paid $170 million in luxury tax charges during the 2021-22 season, when the Warriors won the championship, but they generate more revenue than the Heat.

So the Big Four fantasy is do-able. But Lillard, Beal, the Blazers and Wizards would need to cooperate. And Heat ownership would need to pay the type of tax bill that most teams wouldn’t.