Giannis Antetokounmpo, will be the biggest fish to hit free agency next summer, and speculation as to where he might go is already at a fever pitch.
On Tuesday, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported hat Giannis could channel LeBron James by taking his talents to South Beach if the Miami Heat eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks from this year's playoffs.
"I asked the aforementioned front office executive which team Antetokounmpo might wind up with if Miami goes on to finish this job and create such havoc for the Bucks," Amick wrote. "‘The Heat,’ he said." Amick goes on to state that Giannis is reportedly done with being on a "regular-season-only kind of team" and an early playoff exit would only calcify that,
Miami has reportedly been keeping an eye on Antetokounmpo for years. In February, an unnamed general manager disclosed to Heavy.com that the Heat have been making moves to entice Giannis to consider Miami.
"Everything they've done, any call that goes through them, it starts with, 'How does this affect 2021?'" the GM said. "They want to be able to make that good pitch, with Jimmy Butler and Spo (coach Erik Spoelstra) and Pat Riley, that's important to them. And it starts with Giannis."
Miami has been doing this by keeping open cap space so that they can potentially sign Giannis to a max deal. Only Jimmy Butler and 2019 second-round pick, KZ Okpala, are on guaranteed contracts past 2020-21, giving Miami a lot of breathing room.
Amick's report comes after the Bucks dropped their first game to Miami on Monday. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 40 points. Giannis played 37 minutes and nearly secured a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists.
