Pat Riley and the Miami Heat have finally done it. They land their whale. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Heat.
In a blockbuster deal, the Heat have officially agreed to acquire Giannis and Bobby Portis from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap, and one second-round pick,
As soon as he's eligible, once the trade is completed, Giannis is expected to sign a max extension with the Heat. That will lock him in with the team for the foreseeable future. But by no means is the Heat's job over.
Make no mistake; this is a huge development for the franchise.
Landing Giannis is just step one of the Heat's offseason work
After years of chasing and more than a few superstar whiffs, the Heat finally has its new face of the franchise. Perhaps most importantly, they have the superstar cornerstone that they've been seeking since the deterioration of the Jimmy Butler era in Miami.
But even now that Giannis is officially a Heat, Miami's work is far from over. Now, the Heat will have the difficult task of trying to build a capable team around Giannis and Bam Adebayo.
Sure, there's a skeleton of what the roster could look like, and there's an idea of what the starters could be, but nothing is certain as of now. Only Giannis and Bam.
For now, though, it's OK for the Heat fan base to celebrate. To marinate in this feeling. In fact, I'd encourage it. They deserve it. After the swings and misses that they've had to endure over the past few years, Heat fans do deserve to feel good about the Giannis trade.
On one hand, there are natural questions about what's next for the Heat. And understandably so.
However, on the other hand, the Heat just landed Giannis. They just added one of the top 5 players in the world, and that's probably not giving Giannis the level of respect he deserves.
If healthy, this is a move that's going to tremendously alter the landscape in the Eastern Conference. The Heat is a factor in the conference again. And, if they make the right moves over the next few weeks, this is a team that could very much creep into the NBA Championship picture.
It's been a very long time since that's been said about the Heat, and that's something that has to feel good for the fan base.
Excitement is back in Miami again. Giannis gets his sun and the Heat just got their whale.
Add us as a preferred source on Google