The Miami Heat are reportedly attempting to get multiple teams involved to help facilitate a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. (Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)
The clock is ticking.
There is less than 26 hours — and counting — until the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
And the Miami Heat are trying to exhaust every option to keep themselves within striking distance to acquire Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, including involving another team to facilitate a trade, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
As the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reported earlier this week, the Heat are leaving little-to-no stones unturned, save for Heat star Bam Adebayo. The basis of the Heat offer would likely include Kel’el Ware, Tyler Herro, another big salary filler (Terry Rozier or Andrew Wiggins), another young player, two first-round picks, plus three swaps.
Logistically, involving a third — or perhaps fourth — is where the waters get muddy because deals where several big salaries and, more importantly, big names, are more realistic in the offseason than at the deadline. Though deals get done when there’s urgency from every party. And we know the Heat is as urgent as ever to get this done now before the challenge becomes even greater in the summer.
If Miami can get another team involved, it increases the likelihood that more could be coming back to them. They would need to fill roster spots, after all.
It isn’t the only team trying to lump other teams in. The Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to do the same.
It’s a much steeper obstacle for them because they have no tradable first-round picks, a poor crop of controllable young players (outside of Jaden McDaniels) and very little depth to throw into the wind. They have big salaries — Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid — but each of those three players has multiple years left on their contract (Randle and Reid re-signed last offseason), lessening their value.
The Heat still has to mountains to move in order to complete this deal. And we’ll see if it’s enough over the next 26 hours.
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