Heat Among Betting Favorites to Giannis Antetokounmpo This Summer

The 2025 offseason sees the Miami Heat staring at a crossroads. Pat Riley can either look to add some juice to the rotation by acquiring a new star talent, or he can hit the reset button.

According to DraftKings sportsbook, Miami is among the top-five candidates to land Giannis Antetokounmpo if he becomes available this summer. DraftKings has Miami as +1600 in a potential Giannis sweepstakes.

The other teams listed as potential landing spots are the Los Angeles Lakers (+1000), San Antonio Spurs (+1200), Brooklyn Nets (+1500) and Miami Heat (+1600), which round out the top five landing spots for the two-time MVP.

While the Heat are among the favorites, they would likely struggle to create an enticing trade package. Miami is lacking in both high-upside young talents and future draft picks, which are core parts of a superstar deal. Nevertheless, Riley is a proven commodity in the trade market and usually finds a way to get a deal over the line.

Giannis, 30, enjoyed a strong 2024-25 campaign. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists while shooting 60.1% from the field. He would immediately improve the current rotation. However, Giannis would still need an improved supporting cast to bring success to the Heat.

Miami Might Not Be a Good Fit For Giannis

During a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith shared his reasons why the Heat wouldn’t be a smart move for Giannis.

“From a strictly basketball perspective, I’m not leaving Dame (Lillard) to go to Miami,” Smith said. “That’s number one. Number two, what are you going to have to give up in order to get Giannis? Because you can’t keep Bam and Tyler Herro. Somebody’s got to go. So who are you going to be playing with? That’s number two.”

Smith continued.

“Number three…Pat Riley; he’s over 80 now…Jimmy Butler walking out the door may not be all Pat Riley’s fault, but some of it was. LeBron James walking out the door. Some of it was Pat Riley’s fault…And I only bring that up to say, at some point in time, there has to be a discussion about change in Miami.”

By moving to the Heat, Giannis would likely be swapping one roster in need of a rebuild for another. And for those reasons, it’s unlikely we see the superstar forward make the move to Miami this summer.

Heat Should Consider a Rebuild

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who was speaking on an April 30 episode of ESPN’s NBA Today, the Heat’s front office should explore the idea of entering into a full-scale rebuild.

“It’s very hard threading the needle,” Marks said. “They’ve been a Play-In team the last couple of years. Would they ever consider taking a step back, potentially taking the Oklahoma City approach? Maybe you get a core player back and draft picks and going in that direction…They are going to be where they are a year from now, if there are no changes here. It may have to be taking a step back instead of going star-chasing.”

Miami would be better served by taking a step back now to improve long-term. The current roster isn’t capable of making noise in the playoffs. As such, embracing a rebuilding period could be the smart move for the franchise’s long-term future. Of course, it may be difficult to convince Riley to accept that reality, but that doesn’t stop it from being true.

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