The Miami Heat were able to secure a Play-In Tournament berth as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 37-45 record, but their front office could already be looking past their upcoming matchup with the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and focusing solely on their strategy for the offseason.
While things might look bleak in the present, it’s possible for the franchise to swing a trade that would completely change their immediate future. In fact, one NBA veteran suggested that the Heat should partake in trade negotiations with a fierce rival in the Milwaukee Bucks.
Though the Bucks captured the No. 5 seed in the East by attaining a 48-34 record this season, another first-round postseason exit could lead to the initiation of a complete rebuild.
In the case of Milwaukee suffering another early elimination, 13-year NBA journeyman Marcus Morris proposed that both of the Bucks’ NBA 75th Anniversary Team members Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard should force their way to the Heat through a stunning blockbuster trade.
“If I’m Giannis and we don’t get past this first round, I think I’m going to sunny, sunny, sunny Miami,” Morris said during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take on Monday morning.
“Listen, it’s wide open over there, you can start something new. It’s a really big market.”
“And then you talk about Dame as well, you (could) do both of them somehow?”
For a trade of this magnitude to have a chance of coming to fruition, the Bucks would likely request the services of Miami’s Bam Adebayo in return for the superstar tandem, but there is a world where the Heat could pull off a deal while keeping the 5-time All-Defensive Team selection.
Miami would theoretically be able to offer the contracts of Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier (pending the result of his federal sports betting investigation), Duncan Robinson, Kyle Anderson, Haywood Highsmith and Nikola Jović along with a massive haul of first-round draft capital to make a deal work financially.
The Bucks’ 2021 NBA champion and Finals MVP Antetokounmpo’s name has been floated in trade rumors for the better part of the past decade, but this offseason could truly mark a serious fork in the road for the 9-time All-Star.
If Antetokounmpo and Lillard both figured that it would be more beneficial to jump ship for Miami, they could form a terrifying Big Four with Adebayo and first-time All-Star shooting guard Tyler Herro, who contributed a career-best 23.9 points in 2024-25.
Despite his reputation as a 2-time league MVP and 2020 Defensive Player of the Year winner, Antetokounmpo just authored one of his best statistical seasons yet, as he averaged a whopping 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists while shooting 60.1% from the floor in 67 contests.
His hypothetical arrival in Miami along with a fellow 9-time All-Star and career 25.1-point scorer Lillard could see the Heat instantly elevate to become a true juggernaut in the East.
This wild proposal from Morris is certainly an entertaining one to think about, but it’s highly unlikely that the Heat could perform a deal to land both talents in one fell swoop.
