The Miami Heat may actually be inching closer to pulling off the unthinkable move to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason. In fact, they may be on the doorstep of such a move if one recent rumor ends up holding true.
NBA writer Kurt Helin believes that if Giannis were to "push" for Miami, it would actually happen. That's a pretty big statement.
“Antetokounmpo wants to stay in the East with a contender. While there would be a lot of work to do, he and Adebayo are a very good foundation. Plus, Miami has the draw of no state tax. If Antetokounmpo pushes for Miami, this would happen.”
Will Giannis push for Miami this offseason?
None of this is all that surprising. The Heat doesn't necessarily have overwhelming assets, but they seemingly have "enough" to get a deal done for a superstar player in the final year of his contract. But the ultimate deciding factor could very well depend on whether Giannis will "push" for Miami or not.
Because if he doesn't "push" for Miami, all bets are off.
In that event, the Heat could still consider themselves with the best offer on the table, and still miss out. And over the last few seasons, the Heat has all too often found themselves on that short end of the stick.
That just can't happen this time around. Unfortunately, they may need Giannis to at least play some ball for that not to happen.
There's still no guarantee that he will. Even though there have been whispers that Giannis could finally resort to that game plan, this entire saga has been quite difficult to read. And just when it feels like there's some growing certainty, things always seem to flip the other way.
But this is all good news.
The Heat clearly feel confident in their pursuit of Giannis
Clearly, no matter how this Giannis situation ends, the Heat feels like they have a really good shot. It's part of the reason why they were so willing to wait on Giannis after falling short in their pursuit of him at the NBA Trade Deadline.
But, again, that guarantees nothing. The Heat's confidence won't mean anything if Giannis re-signs with the Milwaukee Bucks or if he's traded to another team in a few weeks.
Still, it does feel as if the Heat is quietly confident for some reason. And maybe they have more information than we do, maybe they don't. For better or worse, it does feel as if something is afoot here.
The Heat are certainly hoping it does end up playing in their favor.
Had you told Miami a year ago that they'd be a Giannis "push" away from crossing the finishing line, they'd take the gamble 100 out of 100 times. As jaded as some may be, most Heat fans take that too.
But this is not foreign territory for this organization. For as good as being a "push" away may seem, they've got to finish this time around. It's closing time for the Heat. The question is, can they get it done this time around?
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