Three Stars Or Strong Bench?
With Bradley Beal in all of the trade rumors these past couple days, fans have been speculating different trade packages for the former all-NBA guard. The three biggest names circulating are the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, and Phoenix Suns. While adding Beal to these already great teams would make for some unmatched star power, does it leave out the main ingredient of a championship contender?
Some of the rumored trade packages require major depth pieces for these teams. For Miami, they want to keep Tyler Herro out of the trade. They are rumored to be offering Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson as the main two pieces along with picks. These were two valuable pieces in the Heat’s historic run to the finals. Along with that, Jimmy Butler is 33 years old, Beal will be 30 later this month, which leaves a short window of success. By giving up potentially valuable picks, if the Heat don’t win a finals, it seems all for nothing. Wouldn’t they rather just get some stronger free agent pieces for the depth and run it back rather than gambling their depth and future on Beal?
Miami has offered Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson and multiple first-round picks for Bradley Beal, per @TheAthletic pic.twitter.com/zIQ44scJ8U
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 18, 2023
For the Celtics, Payton Pritchard, Malcolm Brogdon, and Robert Williams seem to be the rumored package going around. While this one doesn't entirely cripple the Celtics deep bench, it does make an even bigger need at Center for Boston. They only had two reliable bigs they could turn to in the postseason. Along with that, shot creation is not a big problem for the Celtics. They have four guys in Brogdon, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown who can go get their shot at will. Beal is just not a necessity for this team and isn’t worth the risk of losing depth pieces.
#NBA Celtics - Bradley Beal has been discussed in a trade that would send Payton Pritchard, Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams and several future picks to the Washington Wizards. (Closed)
— Robot Dave (@Robot_Davey) June 16, 2023
Phoenix is almost exactly like Boston. The difference is, the Celtics could send that hypothetical package and still be eight guys deep. Phoenix was already limited to nearly six players a game during the playoffs, therefore sending whatever bench pieces and Chris Paul will have them right back in the same situation that sent them home. Also, like the Celtics, shot creation is not an issue when you have Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Phoenix should look to avoid Beal as well.
Bradley Beal is set to make 46.7 million dollars in the 2023-2024 NBA seasons. Photo Credit: Vocal Media
All of these teams would be better off with their two stars and a stronger bench. It’s been the recipe since the end of the KD Warriors. The 2020 Lakers had LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and a plethora of bench options who hit threes and defended hard. The 2021 Bucks had three all-star level players, but they all provided something different in the series to allow for a smaller rotation. The 2022 Warriors honestly just had Stephen Curry at an all-NBA level, but had guys who had been there before and guys who were willing to play their role. Even teams like the 2019 Raptors and this year’s Nuggets rolled out one all-NBA guy, one all-star caliber player, and a group of hounding defenders who were coachable.
The recipe has been evident for the past five seasons. Depth is the way to build a championship team over having three or four stars with no high quality role players. Most of those three-starred teams flamed out before reaching the finals. The 2021 Nets were too reliant on the stars and when they got hurt, the Bucks took advantage. The Suns just lost to the champions because Booker unfortunately flamed out the last two games of the series. These teams should follow the blueprint of these NBA champions over trying to build the next “superteam.”
