Miami Heat fans are riding a strong wave of excitement already after the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. That is likely going to carry over into free agency, especially after Rich Paul just poured gasoline all over their momentum.
That's because if arguably the most powerful agent in all of the NBA is saying this, there could very well be something to it.
On a recent episode of his podcast with Max Kellerman, Paul hinted that this Heat roster is going to look a lot different on opening night than it does now. While that's not exactly "breaking news," especially considering that they only have a few players technically on contract, it's the idea that Paul is hinting that players are going to want to join Bam Adebayo and Giannis in Miami.
"This team could look totally different. There’s a lot of work to be done. The one good thing about Miami is, when you talk about back filling a roster with minimums, who don’t want to go to Miami on a minimum?"
The Heat will have their work cut for them this summer
It certainly won't be easy for the Heat, but there is going to be a possibility for them to fill out a truly interesting roster next to Bam and Giannis. For now, it's almost impossible to predict what that could entail, mostly because some of that is currently out of their hands.
For example, the Heat is still waiting on what Andrew Wiggins elects to do with his player option. That decision alone will open or close some possibilities for Miami.
If Wiggins decides to opt in, it could add a little more complexity to how the Heat is going to operate heading into free agency. However, if he were to opt out and work with the Heat to come back on a multi-year deal, with a slightly lower average per year number, that would be a huge boost to what the team will want to do this offseason.
Can the Heat open up more flexibility by trading Nikola Jovic?
Then there's the Nikola Jovic question for the Heat. Even though it would be foolish to "give up" on him at this point, trading him can't be out of the question. If the Heat were to trade Jovic and his poison pill contract, it would open up so much more financial flexibility for the team heading into free agency.
The Heat would then be allowed to operate with the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception at ease. But, again, trading Jovic could be easier said than done. At this point, he's more of a negative asset than a positive one.
Either way, much of that will be decided over the next week before free agency begins.
No matter what happens, the Heat aren't done making moves. They can't be. And the fact that Paul made that pretty clear is only going to add more intrigue as the Heat prepares to fill out the rest of the supporting cast around Giannis and Bam over the next couple of weeks.
Add us as a preferred source on Google