The Miami Heat may not have much left over after a Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster trade to build around him, and that means if they're going to win the sweepstakes, it will require the superstar forward to overlook that one major flaw.
It's already been reported that Giannis could have some hesitation about the prospect of joining the Heat because of this. But you don't need an NBA expert to tell you this very real issue for the Heat.
Just on paper, Miami will have to fill plenty of roster spots if they plan on gutting their roster (and asset chest) for Giannis this summer.
Building around Giannis could take time for the Heat
In the end, this could end up being the biggest reason why Giannis may end up steering away from Miami when push comes to shove. If there's anything that we know for certainty about Giannis, it's the fact that he wants to compete for a championship.
It's hard to envision that happening right away with the Heat.
Unless, of course, Miami is able to keep more key players than expected out of the final offer. Short of that happening, there's reason to believe that the Heat may need more than one offseason to build a respectable team around Giannis.
And for Giannis to push his way to Miami, he's going to need to trust the Heat's front office and be awfully patient.
Even though he's proved that he can be that type of team player over the past few seasons in Milwaukee, I'm not sure if he'll offer that same grace to the Heat.
Part of the reason why Giannis was so patient during his time with the Bucks was his loyalty to them. He won't have that same connection, at least not initially, in Miami. And because of that, he may not be willing to be that patient with the Heat's front office.
And he won't have to.
Will Giannis use his influence to push his way to his next destination?
Part of taking back his power from the Bucks as they inch closer to a trade is this idea that he can control, to at least a certain extent, where he may be traded. With just one year on his deal, if there's one team he wants to go to, he could let that be known.
Whether he's done that so far, or if he even plans to utilize such power, remains to be seen.
For that team to be the Heat, though, it's clear he'll have to be able to live with the idea that building around him in Miami will take time. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how willing he'll be to live with that premise.
Time will ultimately tell how this will all play out, but it's looking more and more like if he's going to find his way to the Heat, he'll have to be willing to overlook the clear team-building issues that the team will have after a Giannis trade.
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