On Friday, I wrote about why it’s unlikely that the Miami Heat could trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. TL;DR: Giannis lacks leverage and the Heat lack assets. (But click and read it anyway!)
Still, there’s no doubt that the Heat would call the Milwaukee Bucks should they start listening to offers for Antetokounmpo. So what would Miami’s best offer look like?
Before we get to that, it’s worth noting that Pat Riley and Co. have rarely – if ever – put all their chips on the table for a star player. They tend to get these guys for bel0w-market value or not at all.
It cost only a first-round pick to land LeBron James in a sign-and-trade, and it turns out 2019’s sign-and-trade deal for Jimmy Butler was a steal. Over the years, Miami refused to make its top offer for Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant and others and saw those stars get traded elsewhere.
It's complicated, but here's what the Miami Heat's best possible offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo could look like.
If the Heat were to low-ball the Bucks for Giannis – a 30-year-old former MVP still at the peak of his powers – they wouldn’t get him. Is Giannis the player worth going broke over, and potentially parting with the face of the franchise?
A couple of more things worth noting: The Bucks are a second apron team, meaning they cannot take more monye back in a trade or aggregate salaries. If they trade Giannis, they’ll have to trade only Giannis and take less money back in the deal.
This makes a deal with the Heat difficult because they are a first apron team. While they can aggregate salaries, they also can’t take more money back in a deal.
So, either the Heat and Bucks negotiate a deal with the exact amount of money (to a penny) being exchanged, or they broker a multi-team deal with a team that can take on extra cash (for a price).
Here’s what Miami’s best offer could look like:
Heat get: Antetokounmpo
Bucks get: Bam Adebayo, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson
Pistons get: Alec Burks, second-round pick (from Miami)
That’s obviously a lot to give up in a deal and might not be worth it for the Heat, but that could be what it takes, considering the Heat would likely be competing with teams that could offer much more in draft capital and young prospects.
Is a hypothetical starting linep of Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thomas Bryant with very little depth good enough to compete for a championship? It would also push the Heat into the second tax apron after filling out the roster with minimum contracts.
Trading for Giannis sounds exciting but, as you can see, it's complicated.