Jason Smith of ESPN Radio's "NBA Today" podcast reports that an NBA general manager told him the Heat offered Michael Beasley to the Nets for Keyon Dooling and "Rod Thorn turned them down". Smith described Thorn's decision as yet another indication of how badly the Heat want to get rid of Beasley.
However, a look at the two teams' salary structures show that it may be more about cap space. Beasley is scheduled to make $4,962,240 next season while Dooling is only owed a $500,000 buyout on his $3,828,000. The Nets have a team option on Dooling exercisable June 29. So taking on Beasley would have reduced the Nets' cap space by nearly $4.5 million. It would have made the Heat much more competitive in free agency this summer as well, giving them more than $25 million to spend...as well as Dwyane Wade.
The Heat declined comment on the report.
- NBA Today on ESPN Radio (Audio) @10:00 - Jason Smith - ESPN Radio
- ASK IRA: Did Heat offer Beasley for Dooling? - Ira Winderman - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
- The Nets Didn’t Trade Dooling For Beasley? That’s Smart. - Sebastian Pruiti - Nets Are Scorching
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Oh, how the stock of Michael Beasley has fallen - Kurt Helin - NBC Sports