On this week’s Heat Check: What should the Miami Heat do ahead of the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline? And the “Mayor of NBA Threads” tells his story. By Pierre Taylor
It will be an interesting week around the NBA leading up to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that two-time NBA MVP and nine-time All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo “is ready for a new home ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline as several teams have made aggressive offers to the Milwaukee Bucks, who are starting to listen.” Charania added that the Bucks are looking for a “blue-chip young talent and/or a surplus of draft picks” for Antetokounmpo.
The Heat, which hosts the Orlando Magic at Kaseya Center on Wednesday night before taking on the Bulls in Chicago on Thursday (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun), is expected to be among the teams to aggressively pursue Antetokounmpo ahead of next week’s trade deadline, according to a league source.
But what does the Heat have to offer in a trade for Antetokounmpo, 31, who will miss the next several weeks after recently sustaining a right calf strain?
The Bucks will likely begin by asking for Heat captain and three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo in any trade discussions, which likely will be a nonstarter for Miami because he has become the Heat’s face of the franchise and shares an agent with Antetokounmpo in Alex Saratsis. Also, part of Antetokounmpo’s potential interest in joining the Heat likely stems from an interest in playing alongside Adebayo and not being traded for him.
But the Heat does have intriguing young talent it could try to entice the Bucks with in 21-year-old center Kel’el Ware, 24-year-old forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., 24-year-old guard Pelle Larsson and 19-year-old guard Kasparas Jakucionis. But it will be challenging to trade 22-year-old forward Nikola Jovic this season because of rules that make it hard to deal a player whose extension hasn’t kicked in yet.
To fulfill the league’s salary-matching rules, the Heat would also very likely need to include two players among the three-man group of Tyler Herro ($31 million salary), Andrew Wiggins ($28.2 million), Terry Rozier ($26.6 million) and Norman Powell ($20.5 million) as part of any potential trade for Antetokounmpo. The Heat is operating under the assumption that the NBA will allow it to use Rozier’s expiring contract in a trade despite Rozier’s October arrest stemming from a federal gambling investigation.
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) guards Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the first half of their matchup at Kaseya Center in Miami on April 5, 2025. David Santiago dsantiago@miamiherald.com
As for draft capital, the Heat currently only has two first-round picks (2030 and 2032) that it can include in a trade since NBA teams are only allowed to trade picks up to seven drafts into the future and league rules prohibit teams from being without future first-round picks in consecutive years.
The fact that the Heat’s 2024 trade for Rozier includes a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick going to the Charlotte Hornets that would turn into an unprotected 2028 first-round pick if it doesn’t convey in 2027 ties up the rest of the Heat’s first-round picks over the next seven drafts.
The Heat can also include some pick swaps in any offer for Antetokounmpo.
This might not be enough tradeable first-round picks to land a superstar like Antetokounmpo, considering the Magic traded four unprotected first-round picks to acquire Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies this past offseason, the New York Knicks traded four unprotected first-round picks and one protected first-round pick to land Mikal Bridges during the 2024 offseason, and the Minnesota Timberwolves traded three unprotected first-round picks and one protected first-round pick to add Rudy Gobert during the 2022 offseason.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs have a bunch of first-round picks and attractive young talent they could offer for Antetokounmpo, but reports indicate they aren’t expected to aggressively pursue Antetokounmpo ahead of next week’s trade deadline.
The Heat could get creative and try to flip players to acquire more first-round picks that it can throw in an Antetokounmpo deal if Miami thinks it has a real shot at him.
Two candidates on the Heat’s roster who could net Miami an additional first-round pick before the Feb. 5 trade deadline are Powell and Wiggins. Powell is on an expiring $20.5 million salary this season and Wiggins has a $30.2 million player option in his contract for next season.
Hypothetically, if the Heat could acquire a 2027 first-round pick for Powell, it would then be able to include three first-round selections in a potential deal for Antetokounmpo — 2026, 2030 and 2032.
As a team below the first and second aprons, the Heat also has some added trade flexibility since it’s permitted to take back more salary in a trade than it sends out.
Antetokounmpo is still at the top of his game in his 13th NBA season, averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 64.5 percent from the field and 39.5 percent on 1.3 three-point attempts per game in 30 appearances this season. He has spent his entire NBA career up to this point in Milwaukee, leading the Bucks to an NBA championship in 2021.
Antetokounmpo will become eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million supermax extension on Oct. 1. Without an extension, he could become an unrestricted free agent in the 2027 offseason by declining a $62.8 million player option that summer.
While the Bucks now appear to be willing to listen to trade offers for Antetokounmpo, they could also wait to resolve this in the offseason.
The Heat and other teams would be able to offer more first-round picks in a trade for Antetokounmpo this upcoming offseason.
For example, the Heat could offer three first-round picks to the Bucks for Antetokounmpo this offseason because it could draft a player for the Bucks in June and then also include its 2030 and 2032 picks.
In this scenario, the Heat would only have four first-round picks it could include in a deal for Antetokounmpo this offseason if it lifts the lottery protections on the 2027 first-round selection it owes the Hornets, but Charlotte would also have to agree to that change. This would allow the Heat to make a pick for the Bucks in this year’s draft, and then also include its 2029, 2031 and 2033 first-round selections in a potential trade for Antetokounmpo this summer.
Whatever happens with Antetokounmpo in the coming days, the Heat will be among the teams in the mix for him. It just remains to be seen if Miami will have enough and/or is willing to part with as much as it might take to get such a deal done.