Clearly, the Miami Heat are not moved by Ja Morant if rumors are true that they plan to play the "wait-and-see" approach with Giannis Antetokounmpo rather than going all-in on the All-Star guard.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Heat aren't expected to jeopardize a potnetial pursuit of Giannis during the offseason by making a trade for Morant at the trade deadline. In Stein's words, it went to the extent that Miami should be "scratched" as a possible landing spot for Morant.
Considering all the Morant-to-Miami smoke that was developing last week, this would be a stark change. Theoretically, while it's not surprising that the Heat would want to save all their supposed ammo for a pursuit of Giannis, this has to be considered pretty gutting for the fan base to hear.
It's the right move for the Heat to wait for Giannis
It's probably the right move, but this is a tactic that has burned the Heat time and time again before, and a song that has grown all too stale for fans.
The Heat have used this line of thinking to sit out other star pursuits. And of late, it's left Miami empty-handed in the end.
This time could be completely different, but there's no guarantee that it will. And that's the biggest risk with this type of gamble.
It's even more difficult for the fan base to get behind considering there's a star available for the Heat right now.
The Heat don't view Ja Morant as a true superstar
If the Heat wanted to trade for a star player, they could easily do so for Morant. He's a potential positional fit for the team, and Miami does have the assets it takes to get a deal done. But I suppose their lack of desire does speak to how they view him as a superstar.
And, honestly, it's probably difficult to blame Miami for this belief.
Even though Morant does still flash from time to time, as he did Sunday, finishing with 24 points and 13 assists, he's too inconsistent to rely on at this point in his career.
For the Heat, the gamble of forfeiting a mere shot at Giannis for Morant doesn't sit well with the front office. That's completely understandable, but that doesn't mean it still can't be questioned.
It's a respectable plan, but also one that could fail miserably if you're the Heat.
Once again, the Heat are making a big gamble in bypassing the opportunity to land Morant (if these trade rumors hold true). While most of that has to do with the high reward of landing Giannis, a part of it also says a lot about what the Heat thinks of Morant.
The bottom line is, they may not be willing to go all-in on the polarizing guard. And, honestly, you can't really blame the Heat for that decision.