Pat Riley already has enough pressure heading into the NBA offseason from Miami Heat fans. But now there's mounting pressure from the general NBA media coverage to cement a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo (if he does end up being traded).
On a recent podcast, Zach Lowe mentioned the Miami Heat as a landing spot for Giannis if he had to bet on a team right now. Again, Lowe does state that this is not necessarily based on any inside information he has, but it's a best guess on his part.
And whether the Heat's front office is willing to admit it or not, it only leads to more added pressure on them to try and figure this thing out.
The Heat has been building toward this moment
Over the last couple of seasons, as the Heat has refused to go all-in on other star pursuits, the reasoning behind that was because this was the moment that the franchise had been chasing - the opportunity to pry Giannis away from Milwaukee.
Well, it's finally here.
If Giannis refuses to sign a long-term extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, the overwhelming belief is that the franchise is going to trade him. The Heat is positioned, as best as they can, to try to take advantage of this situation.
For better or worse, it's on Riley (and the rest of the front office) to make it happen. And if they can't, and if Giannis is traded elsewhere, this is on them. They'll have to take the blame. The fans know that. The general media know that. And, surely, so does the front office.
The Heat will have a great shot to land Giannis
The good news for the Heat is that, based on all the reporting, they're expected to have as good a shot as anyone to land Giannis via trade if he's moved. Considering the conversations the Heat had with the Bucks leading up to this past year's NBA Trade Deadline, you'd have to imagine the two sides would be in a great spot to pick up where they left off.
That doesn't necessarily mean that the Heat should be the favorites, but it does give them a slight head start because both sides already know so much of what they can offer each other.
But, again, the onus will be on the Heat's front office to figure out how to close the deal.
Over the past half-decade, the Heat has struggled with this very step in the star-chasing process. During that span, they couldn't close on Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, and others.
Will this time be any different for the Heat? Time will tell, but if one thing is certain, it's that the pressure is mounting.
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