With the Miami Heat preparing for the 2026 NBA Draft, the team's offseason will also include a heavy pursuit of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. As rumors surround the Heat and Antetokounmpo, this former star player gives a warning about a potential new basketball relationship.
Gary Payton has had a notable NBA career, where the last two seasons were spent with Miami, as he was asked by DJ Siddiqi about the possibility of the Heat trading for Antetokounmpo. While Payton admits that the team is “one player away,” he questions if that is Antetokounmpo.
“Well, you know what they need — they’re one player away,” Payton said. “I don’t know if Gianis is the one, because he’s always downhill, and I don’t know how that’s going to work, I really think you need a basketball player who can really complement everything that you do around your team.
“I wouldn’t want to lose what they have with the guys that they got,” Payton continued. “They’re gonna have to give either Bam (Adebayo) up, and then one of the other shooters, they would have to give one of them up. They have to give somebody up. So then you’re going to build around one person. I don’t know how that’ll work.”
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Gary Payton worries what Heat could put with Giannis Antetokounmpo
Payton would continue to talk about the potential of the Heat trading for Antetokounmpo and worry about what pieces the team will put around him.
“Miami is going to give away a lot, but what are you going to do? Who are you going to put around him? And I don’t know what that’s going to be, but I think Pat Riley got it in,” Payton said. “He knows what he needs…But I don’t think he wants to be in that situation anymore. I think he wants to be a true contender.”
At any rate, it remains to be seen what happens with Miami and Antetokounmpo, as the team looks to improve after finishing with a 42-39 record, putting them 10th in the East and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
With the Miami Heat preparing for the 2026 NBA Draft, the team's offseason will also include a heavy pursuit of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. As rumors surround the Heat and Antetokounmpo, this former star player gives a warning about a potential new basketball relationship.