The Miami Heat's clearest path toward acquiring a superstar player is not Giannis Antetokounmpo; it's Kawhi Leonard. While all the attention this week has surrounded the potential all-out bidding war for Giannis, it's Kawhi that presents the most likely path for the Heat to significantly upgrade their roster ahead of the 2026 NBA Trade Deadline.
Is there a chance that Giannis is traded between now and the trade deadline? Sure. Is there a chance that the Heat are on Giannis's list of preferred landing spots? Absolutely. But what are the real odds that the Heat will have the best offer on the table when push comes to shove - whether that's before the trade deadline or during the offseason? Extremely unlikely.
That's even more so the case if teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and perhaps even the Los Angeles Lakers are involved. That doesn't mean the Heat should bow out before the Giannis sweepstakes before they even begin, but it does prove the uphill climb that they'll face.
The Heat should kick tires on a Kawhi trade
On the other hand, Kawhi could be available at a discount in a couple of months.
With the LA Clippers struggling as much as they've had so far this season, it's fair to wonder if they'd be open to trading some of their veteran players in an attempt to jump-start a rebuild. The Heat would be one of the few teams across the league that would make sense for Kawhi.
The Heat have a strong supporting cast already in place, and the addition of Kawhi could potentially give the team that final piece of the puzzle to emerge as a serious threat in the Eastern Conference.
If Miami were able to acquire Kawhi without parting ways with any of their significant parts of their roster, and there's reason to believe that they wouldn't, this is a deal that lines up much more with what has been Pat Riley's tendency in the past.
The recent reporting suggests that Kawhi may have "negative value" on the trade market if the Clippers were to shop him. Would the Heat be open to an offer that revolves around Terry Rozier, Andrew Wiggins, and a protected first-round pick?
That's a move that could give the Heat the superstar veteran they've been angling for over the last few years, while also keeping the majority of their assets in-house. It's a trade that would raise their ceiling now and keep their future intact.
Sure, in theory, the Heat's front office would much rather trade for Giannis. There's no question about that. But when you think about what the next few months may hold, trading for Kawhi may seem much more realistic at this point.