The Miami Heat have an almost brand-new team around Bam Adebayo. Most of the guys around him are now gone. A lot of the depth that Miami had built has disappeared, as well. Instead of depth, the Heat now have Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo was brought in to help Miami make a run at a championship. He is now the center of the team. Pat Riley made sure to let everyone know the organization is still trying to win games as long as he is in charge. Now, they are seen as a desperate team by ESPN.
Heat Ranked as Eighth-Most Desperate Team to Win Now
Zach Kram of ESPN ranks Miami as the eighth-most desperate team to win now. He cites adding Antetokounmpo as the sole reason because of what it does to their flexibility moving forward.
“The Heat jumped nine spots, all thanks to the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. And they’ll surely leap even higher by next fall, because Antetokounmpo is eligible to sign an extension before then. Miami is exactly the kind of team this exercise is designed to capture: The Heat traded numerous assets for a 31-year-old star, so they’ll presumably keep making concerted win-now moves to seize the day while he’s still in his prime,” Kram writes.
Antetokounmpo is still in the prime of his career, but he has shown signs of slowing down. His durability has started to take a hit in the last few years. He played only 36 games a year ago after suffering multiple calf injuries. He has also missed games in two of the last three postseasons his team played in.
Trading most of the depth that helped them become a play-in team in the last few years is worth the upside of Antetokounmpo. However, they don’t have many answers if he gets hurt again. Adebayo would have to carry a heavy load in that scenario, and he is best used as a second or third offensive option.
Miami is Gambling Big on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Health
Perhaps no bigger gamble was made in the offseason than trading all of these assets Miami parted ways with. They are putting a large price on Antetokounmpo’s health. If this gamble fails, the team will struggle to return to prominence until they get more cap space.
The Heat will likely sign Antetokounmpo to an extension at some point before next season. That will only increase the urgency that Miami has to win big now. Riley will keep shoving the chips into the middle of the table. At his age, he doesn’t want to go through a rebuild.
Last season, the Heat had the 12th-rated offense in the NBA. With a bona fide superstar, they are expecting to be in the top ten this season. That is the only way that Miami ends up making a deep run in the postseason.
Heat Given Surprisingly-High Ranking Among Desperate Teams