The Miami Heat are going to need help if they're going to win the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. They're not going to outbid all the potential suitors, and the only real way they're going to land Giannis is if the Heat emerge on the (extremely) short list of his preferred landing spots.
Giannis would, essentially, have to tell the Bucks that he wants to be traded to Miami, and perhaps only Miami. Even then, as we saw with the Damian Lillard sweepstakes, there's no guarantee that Milwaukee would even oblige.
However, it does appear as if that's the only clear path toward the Heat finding a way to win the Giannis sweepstakes.
The Heat should still explore every avenue to land Giannis
Unlike the way the Heat approached the Kevin Durant sweepstakes this past summer, Miami should be willing to put all the chips on the table for Giannis. Theoretically, you'd want to pair Giannis with Bam Adebayo, so, in theory, I suppose you try to keep him out of any deals.
But even then, if that's what it would require, the Heat would have to consider such a move. Going down that path, they would acquire Giannis, and then line up other moves to begin building around him as soon as possible.
But that's another conversation for another day.
The bottom line is simple: nothing should be considered itoo far in the Heat's pursuit of Giannis.
Miami should already be mocking up 1-for-1 team trade offers and multi-team trade offers. They should be exploring what type of team they'd want to build around Giannis if or when they were able to pull off a deal.
Pat Riley lives for these moments
Especially considering that this is a moment (or opportunity) that the Heat have been waiting for quite some time, this is a front office that, you'd imagine, would be fully prepared and ready to go. And the Heat's "success" so far this season shouldn't change any of that.
For the sake of Heat fans, you hope it doesn't.
Miami has had an encouraging start to the year, but you don't bypass the opportunity to land a generational talent like Giannis.
Giannis is the type of player that changes franchises and alters ceilings. Without Giannis, the Heat would be lucky to finish as a top 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. With Giannis, they're a championship contender, no matter what the rest of their roster looks like.
But, again, to even have a shot at landing Giannis, the Heat are going to need some help. And a lot of it. Interestingly enough, Giannis has the potential to shift this entire narrative in the Heat's favor. The question is, will he flex his power in their direction?