The Heat finally got Giannis. Now comes the hard part: building a true contender around him.

At long last it happened! On Monday night, the Milwaukee Bucks finally traded Giannis Antetokounmpo and (fellow franchise icon) Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks (including no. 13 in Tuesday’s draft), a second-round pick, and one pick swap

There will be hand-wringing in the days, weeks, and years ahead about the strength of the package Miami sent to Milwaukee—and the severity of Milwaukee's failure to hyper-blast into the next er—but let’s look at the deal from Miami’s perspective. Even before their relationship with Jimmy Butler spoiled, the Heat had been searching for a bona fide superstar to either take his place or win by his side. For good reason: This organization hasn’t looked like a credible contender in quite some time, and before completing this blockbuster, the Heat were heading in the wrong direction. 

Since losing the 2023 NBA Finals—which they made as a 44-win 8-seed—the Heat have not won a playoff series. This year, they fell to the Charlotte Hornets in the play-in. Last postseason, they were blown out of the water by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were promptly blown out of the water by the Indiana Pacers. Will the trade turn the tide? In Giannis, Pat Riley has found what he’d been searching for. Now the fun—and incredibly difficult part—can begin. 

The Boston Celtics wanted Giannis because his ability to feast in the paint was the perfect antidote for an offense that kept shooting itself out of playoff games. They needed a powerful inside presence to complement Jayson Tatum, but their championship DNA was already in place. 

By contrast, while the Heat have also struggled at the rim, trading for Giannis was less about function and more about jamming an immense talent through the front door, then figuring out where the rest of the furniture belongs. No shame there! They absolutely should have been in on Giannis, and landing him raises their ceiling exponentially higher than it was 24 hours ago. But there’s no dancing around the fact that, while the current fit isn’t clumsy, per se, real work needs to be done to make this team a title contender; Antetokounmpo alone does not equal playoff success. (He hasn’t won a playoff series since 2022!)

It’s impossible to answer important questions about an unfinished product, but they still have to be asked. Broadly speaking, will the Heat possess enough shooting, depth, size, versatility, and athleticism to survive the 82-game regular season, which is then followed by four grueling playoff rounds? If not, can they build a team with those qualities around Antetokounmpo before he declines? He’s 31 years old, is entering his 14th season, and already suffers from persistent soft-tissue injuries. According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, on January 6 of next year, he’ll be eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million extension. 

Time is not on Miami’s side. The New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, and Boston Celtics aren’t going anywhere, which makes the evolution of the Heat’s on-court identity critical. Now that Antetokounmpo is in South Beach, will this still be the fastest team in the league? Will it still embrace a quick-touch, egalitarian offense that shuns the pick-and-roll? Or will the ball be in Giannis’s hands? Last season, on his way to career highs in PER and true shooting percentage, he was second only to Luka Doncic in true usage rate. Milwaukee’s offense was Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

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But if he wants to stay healthy, Giannis should downshift into a new phase of his career; the Heat would be wise to taper some of Antetokounmpo’s responsibilities and let whatever’s best for his body influence their style of play. If that means decreasing the pace and trying to out-execute opponents in the half court, so be it. Let Heat Culture lead the way. 

From there: Do Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo make sense as a pair? Spacing is paramount. Antetokounmpo still can’t shoot and has spent his entire prime alongside a bona fide stretch 5 who could also protect the rim. Adebayo has recently increased his range, but he ranks 89th out of 98 players who’ve attempted at least 600 3s in the past two seasons. More factors will go into making this a viable relationship, though. If there are some personnel changes around them, I’m bullish about the possibility that it can work on both ends. Brute strength matters—good luck avoiding the penalty while trying to stop these two in the paint—and Adebayo has genuine two-way versatility. He can handle the ball, push the pace, obliterate single coverage in the post, rebound, defend everyone, and set rib-rattling screens—either for Giannis directly or for a shooter who’s trying to shake free on the weak side. 

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The Heat Win the Bidding War for Giannis

The Heat Win the Bidding War for Giannis

Who will said shooter be? Good question! To be successful, the Heat will need to surround Antetokounmpo with outside shooters who make help defenders second-guess their rotations off the perimeter when the big man is rumbling toward the basket. The Bucks have ranked nearly in the top five in 3-point rate every year since 2019, and they were first and second in 3-point percentage the past two years. According to Bball Index, Antetokounmpo ranked fifth in a stat that measures the off-ball gravity each player’s teammates are able to provide. Of note: Several members of the Heat finished below the second percentile. A few of the reasons for that are on their way to Milwaukee, but the environment Antetokounmpo is stepping into doesn’t come close to accentuating his strengths. 

As one of the best shooters alive, Norman Powell should help. But he’s also a 33-year-old unrestricted free agent whose new deal may trigger some apron-related concerns and a sizable tax bill. Andrew Wiggins has an unresolved $30 million player option, too. Keeping him is kind of a big deal. After that, things get dark. Assuming Powell and Wiggins are back, Miami’s fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-highest paid players will be Nikola Jovic, Portis, and Davion Mitchell. That is not nearly good enough. Replacing what Herro, Jaquez, and Ware provided won’t be easy. Who is Miami’s primary ball handler? Who’s scoring off the bench? Who is the backup center? 

The Heat can use the mid-level exception, biannual exception, and a couple of small trade exceptions to answer these questions. Trades will be harder, though. With so much draft capital heading Milwaukee’s way, the Heat are down to one movable first-round pick in 2029. It’s all a challenge that Miami is clearly thrilled to tackle, with a defense that can be elite on day one. 

Antetokounmpo is a generational talent who, before last season, had finished in the top five in MVP voting seven years in a row. All of these are real concerns. But until Father Time shows his face, Antetokounmpo can still have unparalleled impact on a basketball game. 

Adding someone this great is cause for celebration, especially when you’re desperate. But there’s a reason that only two teams were going after Giannis. When the prize happens to be on the wrong side of 30, is prone to injury, and is about to get paid a ton of money for years to come, it’d be a lot better if he were missing piece instead of an initial step toward the unknown.