The Miami Heat's offseason pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo was already going to be difficult enough. But now that a desperate Houston Rockets team may join the pursuit, according to recent reporting, things just got slightly more difficult for the Heat.
In many ways, there's an argument to be made that the Rockets would represent one of the biggest threats to the Heat in their pursuit of Giannis.
Houston has the young assets and just enough draft capital where they'd theoretically be able to put forth a very interesting offer together for the Milwaukee Bucks. Of course, the ultimate question would revolve around whether Giannis would be open to signing a long-term extension in Houston.
If the answer to that question is yes, the Rockets are very much the threat that the Heat were hoping to avoid in their second hard push for Giannis this summer.
The Miami Heat's competition for Giannis
In theory, the Heat would seemingly be able to beat out any offer that the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Lakers would be able to muster together for Giannis. On the surface, the Heat may seem like a much more appealing suitor for the superstar forward than the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, and Portland Trail Blazers.
The Rockets, of all teams, could be the perfect balance of a team with all the right assets and the ability to appeal to Giannis.
Even if there's just a little possibility of this, the Rockets would immediately emerge as a potential nightmarish scenario for the Heat.
Perhaps most importantly, the Rockets would represent a team that is much closer to a championship than the Heat. Giannis would be Houston's final piece of their championship puzzle.
For the Heat, Giannis would represent just the start of a new retooling of the roster.
How much that would end up factoring for Giannis remains to be seen, but it would be extremely foolish not to consider it a potential problem for the Heat.
The Heat must be preparing a plan B for the offseason
And that's why it may be extremely important for the Heat to start preparing plan B's heading into the offseason. If the Heat are heading into this summer with a Giannis-or-bust approach, they're setting themselves up for disaster.
That doesn't mean that Giannis is not a possibility for the Heat, but it does beg the need for realism.
In a vacuum, the odds that the Heat land Giannis this summer are quite low. And that plausibility will only decrease if the market for Giannis continues to grow.
Here's the thing: Even if it doesn't, the Rockets' inclusion in the bidding war for Giannis would give the Heat a worthy enough threat to the team's lofty offseason plans.
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