Mailbag: Giannis to Heat — only a matter of time or being overstated?
The Miami Herald’s Heat mailbag is here to answer your questions. If you weren’t able to ask this time, send your questions for future mailbags via X (@Anthony_Chiang). You can also email them to achiang@miamiherald.com.
Christopher: How likely do you think it is for the Heat to get Giannis, and when do you think it would happen?
Anthony Chiang: The one thing I can write with certainty is that the Heat is very interested in Giannis Antetokounmpo. But the Heat was also very interested in Antetokounmpo ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline in February before the Milwaukee Bucks ultimately decided to hold on to Antetokounmpo for the rest of the season. The Heat was also very interested in Damian Lillard before the Portland Trail Blazers dealt him to the Bucks during the 2023 offseason.
The bottom line is there are two sides that have to come together to execute a trade. The Bucks have to also be interested in what the Heat has to offer. The good news for the Heat is the Bucks reportedly seriously considered its offer in February before deciding to hold on to Antetokounmpo. So there’s definitely some interest there from Milwaukee.
The question is, will another team emerge in the Giannis sweepstakes and outbid the Heat? If the Knicks blow a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, will they engage the Bucks on a potential trade for Antetokounmpo? While New York could make an established star such as Karl-Anthony Towns available in a potential offer for Antetokounmpo, it currently has only one tradeable first-round selection. But the Knicks, starting on the first night of this year’s draft, could add a second selection in a potential offer by trading the rights to the 24th pick to go with a first-round pick in 2033. It would make sense for the Bucks to wait until the conclusion of the NBA Finals to execute any potential trade of Antetokounmpo in order to gauge the Knicks’ interest.
Antetokounmpo will definitely have some say in where he’s traded since he’s essentially on an expiring contract. He has a player option in his current deal for the 2027-28 season, providing him leverage to force his way to a specific team because of the long-term commitment teams will need from Antetokounmpo to give up the players and draft picks required to acquire him in a trade.
If Antetokounmpo is dealt, he would become eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million contract extension with his new team six months following the trade.
@CryoCove: Does Giannis really have interest in winning in Miami if he’s willing to gut the roster/assets to speed up the process? Free agent in 387 days.
Anthony: At 31 years old and coming off a career-low amount of games played in a season, Antetokounmpo is not going to waste one of his prime seasons just to save the Heat from giving up assets to acquire him in a trade this offseason. Yes, Antetokounmpo could theoretically just sign with the Heat as a free agent during the 2027 offseason since the Heat is on track to have max-level cap space that summer. But Antetokounmpo will also be a few months away from turning 33 years old at that point. These years in Antetokounmpo’s playing career are too valuable just to delay what he believes will put him in a better position to have success and ultimately win another NBA title.
