Can Miami Heat make a realistic run at Giannis Antetokounmpo?

The Miami Heat have a tremendous opportunity after the 2020-21 season. They are a successful team in the East with the cap space to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo.

When the Miami Heat signed Jimmy Butler, they opened the door for other stars to come to town. Butler has shown that he wants to win; he left the Philadelphia 76ers apparently unhappy with the culture. His time with the Minnesota Timberwolves ended more or less because their young players didn’t work hard enough.

To be honest, Butler appeared to be a locker room cancer. However, the true Jimmy Butler has come out. He is leading one of the hottest teams in the NBA, a team that was only good enough for 10th in the East last season with a 39-43 record.

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The Heat this season are already 27-12 and in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. They are doing this with Dion Waiters suspended (also being buried at the end of the bench) and James Johnson just starting to play. This says a lot for the team culture.

This is what Giannis Antetokounmpo could be looking for in a team. The Milwaukee Bucks are first in the NBA with a 35-6 record. They were the best team in the NBA last season, but were not good enough to make it out of the East in the playoffs, losing to the eventual champion Toronto Raptors.

If the Bucks don’t win a championship this year or next, Antetokounmpo might be able to be poached by another contender when he enters free agency. The best-placed contender is the Heat, as they have the ability to hoard cap space for the season Antetokounmpo enters free agency.

They have four expiring contracts currently on the roster. Udonis Haslem is unlikely to be re-signed due to being 39. He has been a tremendous servant to the Heat since 2003-04 but it is time for a younger player next season.

Meyers Leonard is being overpaid at $11 million for this season. With the free agency class being weak next year, he may sign with another franchise because he can get paid.

It is a similar situation to Derrick Jones, who at 22 will draw interest from a number of teams around the league. The Heat will try to sign him with trade ideas in mind for the next season.

The final piece for this offseason is Goran Dragic. His role has changed from that as a starter to a key bench piece. At 33, he is a prime candidate for a declining contract where he gets paid well next season then less as he gets older. This will leave more room to potentially sign Antetokounmpo.

As it stands, the Heat have only two contracts on the books when Antetokounmpo hits free agency. These are Butler on $36 million and KZ Okpala on $1.7 million. This means that the Heat can carefully build around Antetokoumpo should he sign.

The Heat also have team options on Justise Winslow ($13 million) and Tyler Herro ($4 million). If Herro continues to produce the way that he is his option will certainly be picked up. This means that if the Heat do not pick up Winslow’s option they will have only $47 million on the books for the Antetokounmpo summer.

Obviously the Miami Heat will have to sign players to go around Antetokounmpo, but this will be easier with both he and Butler on the books. The Heat have a good culture and have been a successful franchise.

A big reason they have been successful is the management style of Pat Riley. He has never been one to base his recruiting on a maybe. He has always signed the best options he could find and if something better comes up, he makes the money work.

The Antetokounmpo situation is different. The opportunity to sign a league MVP who is a generational talent may cause Riley to change his style. However, he only has four contract decisions to make based on the current list, so he may not have to change it too much.

Of course, all of this will be irrelevant if the Bucks win a championship. No team leader leaves a championship team. Well, except for last season.