Miami Heat: James Harden needs to be at the top of Pat Riley’s to-do list

From one perspective, the Miami Heat lost out after Giannis Antetokounmpo signed his extension. On the other hand, now they can pivot to James Harden.

The NBA as a whole has been waiting for the news of Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s supermax decision, whatever it might be. On Tuesday the decision was made and Giannis signed a five-year max extension worth $228 million to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks. This decision impacts the Miami Heat, who were keeping the books as clear as possible in the hopes of wooing him to South Beach next summer in free agency.

You can see the Heat as losers in this situation if you like. After all, they perceived themselves as frontrunners to persuade Giannis to leave Milwaukee, if anybody could do it, and they aren’t even going to get a chance. On the other hand, with a free agent meeting now out of the question, team president Pat Riley can set his sights on the other big target: James Harden.

As we know, Harden wants a trade from the Houston Rockets, and the Miami Heat don’t want to begin the 2021-22 season without adding another superstar. Now that Giannis is off the table, it’s time for the Heat to do what it takes to get James Harden in the fold.

Not only do the Heat want to add a superstar (and Harden is the only one out there to be had), they don’t want their Eastern Conference rivals to get him. James Harden’s addition to the Philadelphia 76ers or Brooklyn Nets while the Miami Heat choose to stand pat could be catastrophic for at least the next few years of Harden’s prime.

Of course, there are ground rules to this. The recently extended Bam Adebayo is a no-go for a Harden trade, as is franchise cornerstone Jimmy Butler. Everybody else, however, must be on the table. This includes the heretofore untouchable Tyler Herro, who has thus far been completely off the table in any trade discussions.

Herro is a special talent, but James Harden is James Harden, and you aren’t going to find another one of those. Period. And if you’re the Heat, you don’t want Harden running roughshod over you in playoff meeting after playoff meeting for the Sixers or Nets because you were unreasonably married to Herro.

The Miami Heat are a development wonder, with projects like Duncan Robinson turning out better than anybody could ever have imagined. But they’re also a star-hunting team, and teams like that don’t pass on opportunities like James Harden, especially after getting indirectly scorned as they were by Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It’s also likely that the Heat know they’re going to have to upgrade if they want to defend their Eastern Conference crown from last season. The bubble broke other players and teams both mentally and emotionally, but the Heat thrived in that environment. It was the toughest road to the NBA Finals possibly ever, but it’s going to take more than just record levels of mental fortitude this season to get back.

They’re going to need a talent infusion, and they’re going to need James Harden.