The offseason is not even here, but the Miami Heat may very well be the early favorites for Giannis Antetokounmpo already.
According to a recent report, the Milwaukee Bucks "seriously considered" trading Giannis to the Heat at the NBA Trade Deadline. If the Bucks intend to trade him this summer, you can bet that both teams will likely pick up where they left off on talks. That would help the Heat catapult near the top of any list of Giannis suitors this summer.
Of course, that doesn't make a Giannis trade, and specifically to the Heat, certain by any means. But the fact that the two sides have had productive talks surrounding the superstar forward in the past should work in their favor.
The Heat are riding some Giannis momentum heading into the summer
It should be a good sign for the Heat's front office, which has a lot riding on its ability to pull off a trade for Giannis this offseason.
Even though the Heat would never outright admit it, this is a front office that is all-in on a Giannis pursuit. In fact, they were pretty much willing to punt this season to maintain flexibility heading into the offseason for another pursuit of Giannis.
Whether they will prove to be right or not remains to be seen. But, at least for now, the Heat should feel confident in their ability to ride this most recent Giannis momentum.
Miami knows there are going to be more suitors for Giannis. They know that their path to pulling off a trade is going to be much more difficult this summer than it was at the trade deadline. Still, the Heat should feel good about where their chances stand.
The Heat will need a little luck, in addition to a big offer
Despite that, the Heat is almost certainly going to need a little luck to pull this off. Miami can have a great offer, but they may very well need a little push from Giannis to get this to the finish line. Not to mention that they'd also need some willingness from Giannis to see a long-term future in Miami.
None of those would be shocking scenarios if they came to fruition, but they're going to need things to fall perfectly in their favor this offseason.
That's generally what it takes for a team to pull off a move for a star player. Even though Miami has not had much luck in that respect of late, things could be coming together for them on the Giannis front.
If this latest Giannis bombshell tells us anything, it's that the Heat were close to securing their whale at the deadline. It's time to reload and finish the job in the summer.