(Mandatory Credit: Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
After several relatively quiet offseason, the Miami Heat had as busy a summer as any NBA team, headlined by acquiring 10-time All-Star and multi-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks. While the East has improved, it’s not far-fetched to say the Heat are on (near) equal footing with the top East teams heading into 2026-27.
But before we get two ahead of ourselves two months out from opening day, how did each move they made this summer stack up against one another? Earlier this offseason, we graded each move. Now, let’s rank them!
6. Extending Andrew Wiggins
Skinny: The Heat made many quality moves this summer. This specific move wasn’t a bad one for the team’s long-term flexibility, per se — although it was the worst for me. Earlier this offseason, they extended Wiggins for $34 million over the next two seasons. But it won’t kick in until next year with his $30.2 million still on the books, which ate away at their short-term flexibility. Ultimately, it didn’t bite them too much, but it was still confusing at the time — and now.
5. Signing Tim Hardaway Jr.
Skinny: Like father, like son. Tim Hardaway Sr. spent five seasons with Miami in the late 90s and early 2000s. Now, his son is a part of the Heat — on a one-year, $6 million deal. Hardaway Jr., 34, was a Sixth Man of the Year finalist with the Nuggets a year ago and immediately becomes one of the Heat’s best volume shooters.
4. Re-signing Simone Fontecchio
Skinny: Fontecchio took a pay cut, signing for the minimum at the start of free agency. His 2025-26 season was up-and-down, but he was one of the best shooters available in free agency. In addition to his shooting, Fontecchio held his own as a defender, and even impacted the game on the offensive glass.
3. Drafting Ryan Conwell
Skinny: I was a fan of Ryan Conwell, and apparently, so were the Heat, who traded up four spots to draft the sharpshooting guard No. 37 overall in June’s draft. Conwell had a solid summer despite poor shooting efficiency. Though Conwell projects to be a much more impactful, efficient 3-and-D guard in a scaled-down role.
2. Signing Klay Thompson
Skinny: Even after adding Hardaway, Conwell and Fontecchio, Miami needed volume 3-point shooting. They needed a player who could occupy space. And it’s not very often you’re able to find that player in the third week of August. Well, Miami did, nabbing Thompson, a four-time champion who is one of the greatest shooters ever, at a team-friendly cost.
1. Acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo (and Bobby Portis)
Skinny: To quote team president Pat Riley, Miami landed a “747” in Antetokounmpo, a top-3 player in the NBA when healthy. The two-time MVP is still his physical prime and immediately buoys the Heat into a fringe title contender.
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