It's never easy for the Miami Heat, and their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo won't be any different.
Just when it seemed as if the trade market for Giannis was cooling off, one piece of new intel from Bill Simmons may have just shaken everything right up. And in the worst way possible for the Heat. Per Simmons, it does seem as if the Celtics are "in" on Giannis.
If that is indeed true, it would map out one of the biggest fears for Miami. Because if the Celtics are all-in on Giannis, they have the ability to put an offer on the table that the Heat just couldn't meet or surpass.
The Heat don't want to see the Celtics go all-in for Giannis
If Boston were willing to build a package out with Jaylen Brown at the center of it, that's one that would almost certainly catapult anything that the Heat could come up with. Whether it's Brown going to the Milwaukee Bucks or if he's shipped to a third team with young assets and draft capital, then going to Milwaukee, this is all around bad news for the Heat's chances of landing Giannis.
Add in the idea that playing next to Jayson Tatum (and the rest of Boston's supporting pieces) would likely appear, at least on paper, better than what would be left in Miami after a trade, and it's easy to see why this is all looking more and more like a nightmarish scenario that Heat fans never wanted to live.
Of course, this is a ton of "ifs," "ands," and "buts." Right now, there's no certainty one way or another. We don't know if the Celtics are willing to "check in" on Giannis, as they did at the NBA Trade Deadline, or if they're willing to put it all on the table for the superstar forward. Maybe this is one big smokescreen from Boston. Who knows.
And with how the Celtics' front office operates, we likely won't know how credible this "report" is until the Giannis saga is over. They just don't leak information; it's rare when it happens.
The Heat's front office is now operating under immense pressure
Either way, this is one of those developments in the Giannis saga that is going to keep Heat fans up awake at night and have the front office second-guessing everything.
They'll never admit it, especially at this point, but there is immense pressure that is falling on the shoulders of the front office. The Heat can't afford to let this golden opportunity slip through their fingers, and watching the Celtics pry Giannis away from them would go down as one of the bigger transactional disappointments in Heat history.
Considering the failures they've had to endure recently, that says a lot.
The Heat should still be considered the favorites to land Giannis, but if this whisper does carry any weight to it, things are going to change significantly soon. And it could all end with Giannis in Boston, not Miami.
Add us as a preferred source on Google