Ira Winderman: At maximum, what could Heat offer Bucks for Giannis?

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Jan 28, 2026

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MIAMI — It is a multiple-choice question the entire NBA, including the Miami Heat, has to evaluate, even if there is no definitive correct answer:

— A. The Milwaukee Bucks will trade Giannis Antetokounmpo by the Feb. 5 NBA trading deadline.

— B. The Milwaukee Bucks will not trade Giannis Antetokounmpo by the Feb. 5 NBA trading deadline.

— C. The Milwaukee Bucks might trade Giannis Antetokounmpo by the Feb. 5 NBA trading deadline.

— D. The Milwaukee Bucks might not trade Giannis Antetokounmpo by the Feb. 5 NBA trading deadline.

What is definitive is that the answer will not be “none of the above,” which makes it incumbent for the entire league to consider their in-house possibilities for a player — even at 31 and with a growing injury history that currently has him sidelined — who remains transcendent.

And that comes down to how far a team is willing to go to make something happen, and how hard the Bucks might push if they have a come-to-Giannis moment by next Thursday that now is the time to move on.

Debate all you want about recent Miami Heat transactions and the insistence of Heat president Pat Riley that the harpoon was mere imagery invoked of a bygone era of NBA trades not encumbered by the luxury tax or tax aprons. But as no less than Heat captain Bam Adebayo noted last spring, never doubt “the guy with the silver hair.”

Or, for that matter, the ability of Heat general manager Andy Elisburg to make the math work, or the ability of Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon to assess draft talent that will endure or expire.

For weeks, the pendulum of prediction has swung between the Heat wholly being in play if there is a Giannis trade, to Riley’s team lacking the needed capital.

And while the Heat’s Godfather might not be able to make an offer the Bucks can’t refuse, he is positioned to make an offer that could create pause for those in the Heat’s ownership and management suites.

First up, as with all cap math, the contracts have to work. So you start with the players and the salaries.

When it comes to the player portion of the equation, here arguably is a maximal version of what the Heat could send out in a bid to sate the Bucks:

— Tyler Herro.

— Kel’el Ware.

— Jaime Jaquez Jr.

— Kasparas Jakucionis.

— Terry Rozier’s expiring salary.

In return:

— Giannis Antetokounmpo.

— Thanasis Antetokounmpo.

(Not only does the addition of Thanasis assist in the cap-matching math, but remember that when the Heat acquired Goran Dragic in that February 2015 trade with the Suns, they also took on brother Zoran Dragic in that same deal.)

That’s the player portion, one that would put the Heat back into the luxury tax. But with an opportunity to add a player such as Giannis, such triviality can be left for another day (or by the Heat shaving another salary at the deadline).

The Bucks, of course, also would need to rebuild their future, with enough pick packages in recent years to create a hunger for more than the two first-round picks the Heat currently have available to put into play (2030 and 2032), when considering Desmond Bane netted the Memphis Grizzlies four first-round picks from the Orlando Magic and the Mikal Bridges trade netted the Brooklyn Nets five first-round picks from the New York Knicks.

With that in mind, a picks package to put into play for the Heat could shake out as something like:

— 2030 Heat first-round pick.

— 2032 Heat first-round pick.

— An additional first-round pick to be acquired by the Heat at the deadline in exchange for Andrew Wiggins.

(There also is a way to write the pick package to get a Heat first-rounder to the Bucks as soon as 2029, depending when the Heat conditional pick owed to the Hornets is put into play.)

So, to recap, the maximum, throw-everything-for-Giannis package would come down to Herro, Wiggins, Jaquez, Ware, Jakucionis, Rozier’s contract, plus all remaining available Heat first-round draft capital.

As for what the Heat would look like with such a deal? Something like this:

Center: Adebayo.

Power forward: Giannis.

Small forward: Pelle Larsson.

Shooting guard: Norman Powell.

Point guard: Davion Mitchell.

Bench: Nikola Jovic, Dru Smith, Simone Fontecchio, Keshad Johnson, plus whatever might come back for Wiggins and whatever might accompany Giannis from Milwaukee, as well as current Heat two-way players Myron Gardner, Jahmir Young and Vlad Goldin.

(Plus street free agents as needed to bring the standard roster to the NBA minimum of 14.)

Drastic? Absolutely.

Enough? Possibly not.

Too much? The draft capital, and possibly Jaquez and Jakucionis, might be sent out only grudgingly.

But with plenty of liar’s poker between now and next Thursday, a hand that could still be of considerable value.