The Miami Heat want Giannis Antetokounmpo, and they are willing to offer the Milwaukee Bucks any asset they want. Well, except for one. Per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, no Heat player is off the table in Giannis trade talks outside of Bam Adebayo. That shows their determination, but one has to wonder just what would be left if the Heat are gutting their most valuable assets.
Can Heat be a contender after Giannis trade? Possibly
If the Bucks do pursue Miami’s trade package, they should ask for the farm. Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. should all be coming to Milwaukee. All that goes without even mentioning all of Miami’s draft picks. In this scenario, the Heat get their star, but their depth is thinned out, leaving question marks all over the roster.
Outside of Adebayo, the only players under contract for next year are Davion Mitchell, Nikola Jovic, Dru Smith, and Myron Gardner. Yes, the Heat will almost certainly accept Pelle Larsson’s club option while sorting things out with Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins. Even if those three return to the Heat, that roster still has a lot of holes.
Are they any closer to contending than Milwaukee has been over the last couple of seasons? Miami does have the advantage of not employing Doc Rivers, but even that may not be enough to elevate them into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. They’d better hope that free agents flock to the Heat for a chance to play with the Greek Freak.
Depth is becoming essential in today’s NBA
Look at the last few NBA Champions. Deep teams. Gone are the days when teams could roll out these top-heavy rosters and win titles. It feels like the Milwaukee Bucks did it just yesterday when they were routinely throwing six players on the floor for the majority of games during the 2021 championship run. Five years later, that has become a recipe for disaster.
It’s great to have a star or two leading the charge, but teams need depth around those players if they truly want to compete. With no trade assets and young players in the aftermath of this scenario, there could be problems in South Beach as the Heat aim to build a compelling roster. The Bucks endured the exact same problem throughout the Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard era.
Getting Giannis sounds like a dream, but the Heat better have a plan to further build around their new star and Abebayo, or things could go south.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.
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