Even if the percentage was extremely low, there was at least a non-zero chance that the Miami Heat could do just enough to pull off a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo if he had decided to demand a trade away from the Milwaukee Bucks. It probably would have been extremely complicated, but the potential was certainly present, or at least that’s what the speculation seemed to suggest. However, the Heat’s shot at Giannis and the dream offseason may officially be dead now.
That’s because, according to Jake Fischer, there is growing doubt that Giannis will demand a trade away from Milwaukee this offseason. As we get deeper into the summer and closer to the official start of the NBA offseason, it does seem as if teams hoping to get the opportunity to make a bid for Giannis may be shifting their attention and priorities elsewhere.The biggest indication of that may be the fact that the whispers surrounding a potential Kevin Durant trade to Houston or San Antonio have certainly ramped up over the last few days. That would only make sense if both Houston and San Antonio were ready to pivot away from an all-out pursuit of Giannis. That’s not to say that has happened, but things could certainly be trending in that direction.
The Heat continue to mine the market for a star player
Realistically, Giannis was probably never a viable option for the Heat. But there’s no question that if Giannis is not going to hit the trade block this summer, it’s certainly going to make Miami’s life a lot more difficult in being able to land a star player.The absence of Giannis as a trade target means the market for the likes of KD and other stars will be stronger. Considering Miami doesn’t have a ton of assets to compete in an all-out bidding war, the Heat are going to have to get creative in their pursuit of a splash move this offseason.
Miami has been strongly linked to KD over the last few weeks, but you can bet that this front office is navigating throughout the league in an attempt to assess who could truly be available this offseason. And if the speculation is that this could be a truly chaotic offseason, you’d have to imagine that there’s going to be much more action than just a KD trade this summer.
