The Miami Heat didn't have as active an offseason as perhaps some originally believed. And if the recent reporting is accurate, a lot of that inactivity could be due to the fact that the team may still be waiting for Giannis Antetokounmpo to wiggle free from the Milwaukee Bucks.
The case could be made that the Heat were reluctant to make a big move this summer, perhaps even the one for Kevin Durant, because they're waiting to see what the resolution ends up being for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.
Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone recently gave some insights into the Bucks' approach with Giannis over the last few months. In short, the Bucks have drawn a line in the sand, and it quickly became clear that they're nowhere near close to even thinking about trading Giannis.
Here's the response when Stone asked Bucks general manager Jon Horst if there was any chance Giannis would be traded before the 2025-26 NBA season.
"No. I deal well with Jon Horst (Bucks GM), I really like him. Jon was very clear that they weren't doing anything. So, that was that."Rockets general manager Rafael Stone
The Heat could be saving assets for their eventual pursuit of Giannis
The Heat, perhaps like many other teams around the league, could truly be saving up assets for their eventual pursuit of Giannis. Is that ever going to be publicly admitted? Absolutely not. However, their actions do speak louder than words. And there's at least an outside chance that's what ended up happening this offseason.
Would it be that surprising if the Heat came to the realization that burning assets on KD now would quite possibly put them in an even worse position in a couple of seasons, and that he wouldn't be the long-term answer that they may be looking for? Absolutely not. And, in theory, Giannis would make a ton of sense as a target that would fall much more in line with Bam Adebayo's timeline moving forward.
Of course, this could all just be fool's gold. Because even if the Heat does the best it can to "save" its assets, and perhaps even assemble a few more between now and next summer, there's still no guarantee that it'll be able to outbid some of the other suitors that will almost certainly be pursuing KD too.
But, in many ways, this could very much help explain a big part of the Heat's hesitance to make a big move this summer.