We all know that the Miami Heat are hot on the trail of Giannis Antetokounmpo by now. Taking on Jrue’s contract might put them in a bad position on that front.
The Miami Heat have openly courted Giannis Antetokounmpo for a year or so now. We haven’t heard anything officially, I will admit that.
However, when Pat Riley tells Jimmy Butler that “he’s making him dream” after they handled the Milwaukee Bucks in the postseason, we all know what he’s saying. The best way to separate a star player from his current team is to continue to beat up on them while also letting it be known that you have a spot for him.
That’s essentially what the plan was for Pat Riley. Beat him into submitting himself to a tenure in South Beach.
It’s really that simple.
With Jrue Holiday’s contract on the books though, making it work financially might not be as simple. In fact, it goes from “not so simple” to “downright complicated” if he were to opt into that money that his option would pay him after this upcoming season.
If they landed Jrue, at a lower annual number than Giannis will command, that’s sort of a win. However, I view it like this.
Jrue gives you a chance to compete and win titles for the next two or three seasons, while having Giannis alongside Bam gives you the opportunity to do so for the next five years or so. In doing simple math, five is greater than two or three, so there’s that.
Absorbing the rest of Holiday’s deal tampers with the flexibility that the Miami Heat have maintained in order to make a play at a “whale”. That “whale” is The Greek Freak.
The Miami Heat will likely make some moves very soon. We can’t wait to see how it all shakes out, but since we have to discuss both sides, these would be the reasons against a Jrue Holiday deal.