After the Oklahoma City Thunder's collapse in the Western Conference Finals, the Miami Heat's advantage in their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo may have just disappeared.
Because if the Thunder feel they need to make a bold move this summer, Giannis is going to be right there sitting on a silver platter. And there's nothing the Heat can do, with their offer, that would top what the Thunder can package together in a deal for Giannis.
The Heat's competitive advantage of having the best offer or being the most aggressive team in the pursuit of Giannis may be no more. And the Heat are certainly entering the danger zone on their superstar hunt.
Heat can only hope the Thunder doesn't pursue Giannis
Of course, this is all "ifs," "ands," and "buts" that we're playing with here. As of right now, there's no definite indication one way or another of whether the Thunder will want to pursue Giannis or not. This is all speculation.
The bottom line, though, for the Heat is that if Oklahoma City wants to pursue Giannis, that could spell the end of their dreams for landing the superstar forward. Again, it's not just that the Thunder has a few more assets than the Heat; it's that they have an infinite amount of stockpiled draft picks and more intriguing young players that they could offer in a deal for Giannis.
The Thunder could roll out an offer centered around Chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams to pair alongside three or four future first-round picks. They'll have plenty to choose from. After all, the Thunder has 14 available first-round picks between now and 2033.
The Heat's Giannis chances could hinge on the Thunder's offseason
In short, Oklahoma City isn't short on assets they could offer in a deal for Giannis. The question is, do they want to go that route?
And the answer to that question could ultimately be the deciding factor of whether the Heat should consider themselves in a good place in their pursuit of Giannis or not. The good news is that we should get an answer to that question shortly.
If the Thunder are going to be interested in Giannis or not, I'd imagine some of that inside information will leak now that their season ends. It may not come in the next few days, but as the dust begins to settle after their failed title defense, a decision will be made by their front office.
I suppose there's a real chance that they don't pursue Giannis. After all, two of their key players missed the majority of the Western Conference Finals. They could chalk up the loss to the lack of health, and they'd make a strong case for that.
But, make no mistake, if the Thunder does decide to pursue Giannis, there's nothing the Heat can do to compete with an offer they could put on the table.
And considering the Heat was beginning to feel good about their Giannis chances, this development couldn't be coming at a worse time for their offseason plans.
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