The Miami Heat could be on the verge of lucking their way into the best possible trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo. If the Milwaukee Bucks do wait to trade Giannis until after this season, that could work greatly in the Heat's favor.
Even though much of the fan base wouldn't want to see this Giannis saga drag into the offseason, it's the one scenario that could help push the Heat's agenda forward. That's because, as NBA insider Jake Fischer points out, if the Bucks wait until the summer to shop Giannis on the trade market, that opens the door to the Heat putting an offer on the table that evolves from having just two tradable first-round picks to four.
Right now, the Heat's best trade offer for Giannis would revolve around Tyler Herro, their young core, two first-round picks, and all the pick swaps possible.
Should this drag into the offseason, which seems to be a growing sentiment of late, the Heat would then have four first-round picks to include in the offer. And that could be the difference between the Heat having a legitimate shot to land Giannis vs. daydreaming about this pipe dream.
The honest truth about the Heat's pursuit of Giannis
If we're being completely honest, the Heat don't currently have the ability to put a trade offer on the table that would seem fair for Giannis. In the scenario that Giannis demanded a trade now, and the Bucks opened the bidding war for him, the Heat wouldn't be near the top of the list of teams with the best offer.
That doesn't mean they couldn't get there by getting creative and involving multiple teams, but straight-up, the Heat doesn't have the assets to get a deal done.
While a package of Herro, Andrew Wiggins (or salary filler), Kel'el Ware, two first-round picks, and potentially four pick swaps may sound respectable on paper, that's not going to get it done for Giannis.
But in a few months, the Heat's best trade package could evolve into Herro, salary filler, Ware, four first-round picks, and four pick swaps. That sounds much closer to what it would likely take to acquire Giannis.
And, at that point, the Bucks wouldn't feel terrible about that return.
Especially considering the scenario Milwaukee finds itself in with their lack of draft picks, it would be a near disaster if they only got two first-rounders in exchange for Giannis. In many ways, four would be the minimum.
That's almost impossible for the Heat to get there now. But if the Bucks were to wait until the offseason, the Heat would be in a much better position to emerge as a real landing spot for Giannis.
It will require much more patience from the front office, but if they genuinely want to pursue Giannis, it may be in the team's best interest for Milwaukee to wait until the summer to make such a move. At that point, the Heat could fall backward into a great, and respectable offer for the superstar forward.