With the Miami Heat looking to make big changes this upcoming offseason, fans are theorizing which stars the front office could add to the team. As the Heat are looking to move on from the Jimmy Butler drama, adding another star alongside their main duo of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro will be their key, with such names as Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo being mentioned.
The team’s captain in Adebayo, would in some ways put out the challenge to Pat Riley and the front office in making a move, as he said he expects “a lot of changes this summer” since he has an “understanding how the guy with the silver hair works.”
“I don’t know, there’s going to be a lot of changes this summer, just from my point of view, understanding how the guy with the silver hair works,” Adebayo said after Game 4, where Miami got swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. “So just be prepared for that. And you know, for me, man, it’s understanding, got to figure out how to win a game in the playoffs. You understand how hard it is when you actually get into these trenches. So take that and you figure it out.”
With the rocky relationships of the Phoenix Suns and Durant, plus the immense amount of rumors surrounding the split of the Milwaukee Bucks and Antetokounmpo, there’s no doubt the Heat will be connected to the players. However, some fans might have deja vu when hearing the team will go whale fishing for a star, as they remember what happened with Damian Lillard, among other players.
Giannis Antetokounmpo with Heat’s Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo possible?
With the Heat led by Herro and Adebayo, the question remains if the team could add rather than subtract, as the assets could be a concern this summer. This was mentioned by ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who said that Miami doesn’t have “enough trade assets to go big game hunting” with their three tradeable first-round picks, as the first will likely be in the 20s.
Besides the draft capital, the players currently on the roster are either not valuable in the eyes of other teams, like Terry Rozier and maybe Andrew Wiggins, or young players that the Heat wouldn’t want to give up, like Kel’el Ware. However, to get a perennial top-three or five player like Antetokounmpo, you would have to give up more than probably you would want to, which could include either Herro or Adebayo.
Speaking during Wednesday’s exit interviews, Adebayo would follow up on his comments that subtly mentioned Riley and said that while he won’t go into the “logistics,” he just wants “to win.”
“At the end of the day, I want to win,” Adebayo said. “So I can’t really go into the logistics or tweaks and everything. I feel like that’s more of a Pat Riley question. I hope you can ask that question to him, and he doesn’t blow you off and ignore you. But you know, for me, he knows my mentality. He knows I want to win. We want to be in the best way possible to do that. So after he talks to you, he’ll probably talk to me and figure it out.”
Kevin Durant with Heat’s Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro more realistic?
Looking at the Heat connection to Durant, that one seems more feasible than acquiring Antetokounmpo due to variables such as his age and leverage. With Durant turning 37 years old in September, he is an aging star, but that could be the exact reason Miami believes he could get him for significantly cheaper than the Bucks star.
Plus, it would be the most likely case where Durant would be added alongside Herro and Adebayo, which would boost the team in the same way Butler did. While the two aren’t the same player in traits, Durant would ease the pressure tremendously on the two leaders in Miami, especially Herro, who had his best season with the Heat, but struggled in the last two games of the playoffs with Cleveland pressuring the team’s No. 1 option.
“Making the All-Star team. I won the three-point contest. A lot of personal positives that came out of the season,” Herro said. “I can’t let the last two games define my season, but also understand that’s not what I want out of this league. The personal growth is cool, but I want to win and be known as a winner. We have to do some things this summer to help put us back in that position.”
What Phoenix would want in a deal would remain to be seen as combining the first-round picks along with some young talent like Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr., as well as veterans like Robinson, plus others might work. While fans will debate if any of these moves are worth it, the Heat look to improve after going 37-45, which put them 10th in the East this past season.
