The Miami Heat knows what it takes to win a championship with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Heat just hasn’t experienced it. Yet.
In 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks perfected that formula around Antetokounmpo, at the time, a 26-year-old two-way juggernaut.
The Bucks had the perfect blend of floor spacing and defense and one elite playmaker outside of Antetokounmpo. Jrue Holiday was the ultimate floor general. Khris Middleton was the go-to wing scorer. And Brook Lopez was the ideal stretch five big man who could shoot it from anywhere on the floor and run back down the other end of the floor and play some defense.
The Heat is close to following that blueprint. One strategic trade could bring Miami even closer to cracking the championship code the Bucks established six seasons ago.
This Trade Would Make Miami Heat’s Champion Odds a Lot Higher
GettyMIAMI, FLORIDA – JANUARY 29: Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat looks on against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at Kaseya Center on January 29, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
The Heat doesn’t have many resources to pull off a significant trade. But that doesn’t matter right now. The player Miami should look to move is Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo, 29, is a premier defensive player and highly versatile on offense, but his fit with Antetokounpo is questionable at best. No doubt the Heat would be a terrorizing defensive unit with both players, but sacrificing some defense to capture the roster balance an Antetokounmpo-led team needs is cruical for the Antetokounmpo era to be a success in Miami.
Here’s the projection: The Heat calls up the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets to hammer out a three-team trade that gives Miami the exact pieces it needs to build a contender around its two-time league MVP. Here’s how the trade would work.
Heat receives: Dejounte Murray, Naz Reid, Yves Missi a 2029 first round pick and a 2030 second round pick (via NOP)
Pelicans receive: Bam Adebayo and a 2031 second round pick (from MIA; WAS holds swap rights)
Hornets receive: Saddiq Bey and a 2029 first round pick (via MIA)
Why This Trade Makes Miami an Instant Contender
For starters, let’s take a look at the 2020-21 Bucks and the projected 2026-27 Heat starting lineups, factoring in this trade.
Bucks:
- PG: Jrue Holiday
- SG: Khris Middleton
- SF: PJ Tucker
- PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
- C: Brook Lopez
Heat:
- PG: Dejounte Murray
- SG: Andrew Wiggins
- SF: Tim Hardaway Jr.
- PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
- C: Naz Reid
Let’s not fail to mention the 22-year-old Missi — dare we say, a Baby Bam? — coming off the bench for Miami. The 6’11” rim-protecting big man would recoup some of the defense Miami would lose by trading Adebayo.
The on-paper similarities between both lineups are eye-popping.
Of course, there is nuance. The two teams are operating in different eras of the league, facing different levels of competition and dealing with entirely different roster-building landscapes.
But with this roster, the Heat would enter Year 1 with Antetokounmpo knowing it has constructed a proven blueprint for winning around him.
Removing Adebayo and adding Reid, a well-established sharpshooter, would give Antetokounmpo the perfect frontcourt partner. Spacing is no longer a concern.
Adding Murray would give the Heat the backcourt playmaker it glaring lacks. Murray, an elite on-ball defender, is a proven table-setter and floor general. And, boy, does his production over the last couple of seasons — 17.2 points, 6.9 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game — awfully resemble the 17.7 points and 6.1 assists per game Holiday registered in Milwaukee’s title-winning 2020-21 season.
This mock trade was intended to explore a unique way the Heat could recreate the championship formula it already knows works with Antetokounmpo.
Miami Heat Projected to Trade Bam Adebayo for $254M Star Roster Overhaul