Antetokounmpo chooses extension with Bucks over ’21 free agency. What it means for Heat
The Miami Heat’s primary target in 2021 free agency will not be a free agent in 2021.
Two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo announced Tuesday he will sign a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Antetokounmpo, 26, was set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 if he had not signed a max extension before the Dec. 21 deadline, and the Heat was expected to be one of the many teams that aggressively pursued the superstar forward on the open market.
When asked following Tuesday’s practice if he was surprised that Antetokounmpo chose to sign an extension with the Bucks, Butler simply said: “Nope.”
“I like it. I don’t think you can go around him,” Butler added, with the Heat eliminating Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in the second round of the playoffs last season. “I don’t think you can go around LeBron [James] either. I think you’ve got to go right through them. You’ve got to beat them. But you also got to beat the Sixers, you got to beat Boston, you got to beat Toronto. There are a lot of squads in this East that you’ve got to go through with some really good players. It doesn’t intimidate me none. I actually get really excited. I want to go up against the best. I know my guys want to go up against the best.”
In the wake of Antetokounmpo’s decision to sign the extension, the Heat would have to trade for Antetokounmpo if it wants to add him to its roster any time soon. But Antetokounmpo can’t be traded for the first year after signing his extension.
Antetokounmpo posted on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon: “This is my home, this is my city.. I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it.”
“I know he’s a hell of a player. He wants to be great,” Butler said of Antetokounmpo. “But I think it’s our job to get better each and every day, each and every year. He has done a phenomenal job of it. They got a good core group around him. It’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be fun to watch. But even more fun to go to battle against those guys. So I can’t wait for the Heat versus the Bucks matchup.”
Even before Tuesday’s news, the Heat likely wouldn’t have had outright cap space for a max free agent like Antetokounmpo this upcoming offseason anyway after signing All-Star center Bam Adebayo to a max contract extension last month.
With Adebayo recently signing a max extension, the Heat would need to trade every player on its roster except Adebayo and Butler to have the cap room to sign most max free agents outright in 2021 unless the cap is well above the $112.4 million projection. Or Miami would need to execute a sign-and-trade to acquire a max free agent.
Adebayo and Antetokounmpo are friends and share the same agent, Alex Saratsis.
While Antetokounmpo is off the board, the list of those who could potentially become free agents in 2021 includes Victor Oladipo, Kawhi Leonard and Jrue Holiday, among others.
Antetokounmpo’s decision to bypass free agency and sign an extension with the Bucks could also push the Heat to become more active in the trade market.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal is a player who would interest Miami if he became available. And disgruntled superstar guard James Harden, who has asked the Houston Rockets to trade him, reportedly has the Heat on his list of preferred destinations along with the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Bucks.
The Heat checked in with the Rockets on Harden recently, but it was a quick exploratory call, according to a league source. Many in the league consider Philadelphia the front-runner if the Rockets decide to deal him, as The New York Times reported last week.
The Heat currently has about $73 million in guaranteed salary committed to five players for the 2021-22 season, with the cap projected to be about $112.4 million next season. But Miami really has about $78 million on its books for 2021-22 because a $5.2 million waive-and-stretch cap hit for Ryan Anderson also has to be included.
“We’re just in here competing,” Butler said of the team’s attitude. “Everybody is fine. Like we don’t know if we’re going to be on the team tomorrow. And that’s the way that they love it here. That’s the way that we love it. We’re going to keep doing it that way. But I’m just here to compete. I’m here to help win games.”
Antetokounmpo’s decision eliminates one off-court storyline. But Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says it was never a distraction anyway.
“This team is about now,” Spoelstra said. “We have a big, audacious goal, and we’ve just been focusing on that daily process of trying to get our team better and get right.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 2:28 PM.
