3 players Heat should try to keep out of a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade

Once again, the Miami Heat are expected to swing big for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. All indications suggest that his fate with Milwaukee, where he’s called home for the last dozen-plus years, will be signed, sealed and delivered by the 2026 NBA Draft, which begins June 23.

Conceptually, the Heat aren’t going to hold anything back — besides Bam Adebayo — in negotiations for Antetokounmpo. But are there any players that, in a perfect world, they should prioritize retaining in those discussions? Let’s examine a few!

Pelle Larsson:

Skinny: Dating back to his days at Arizona, Larsson’s a winning basketball player who’s more of a glue guy than a premier option. He broke out in his second season with Miami, averaging 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 60.5 percent true shooting. He’s not afraid to get in a player’s jersey defensively — how often he got hit in the face became an internet trend — and do the dirty work.

The Heat would also need quality depth on cost-controlled contracts. Larsson’s fits that to a T. His skillset and contract make him exactly the complementary connector the Heat should try their best to retain in any negotiation.

Davion Mitchell:

Skinny: Like Larsson, Mitchell’s contract is one of the most valuable on the Heat. There’s a non-zero chance that his $12 million expiring could be sacrificed as an additional salary filler.

But it shouldn’t.

While he would function best as a guard off the bench in a perfect world, he’d have less of a creation burden with Antetokounmpo in the picture. Meaning, he could lean more into where he thrives best: Defensively. He’s a bulldog at the point-of-attack and would be allowed to be more aggressive with a sturdier backline.

Furthermore, Mitchell’s not a natural floor spacer, but he’s shot 39.6 percent from deep on 3.0 triple tries per game the last two seasons. And his improved playmaking could help an Antetokounmpo-Adebayo-led frontcourt.

Kasparas Jakucionis:

Skinny: Jakucionis is a wild card in these discussions. But he’s also a perfect archetype to have around Giannis. He’s a playmaking point guard that’s a good 3-point shooter — as evidenced by his 42.3 3-point percentage as a rookie — and defender with positional size.

The 19-year-old will need to continue to amass more strength and fine-tune his ballhandling, but Jakucionis’ impact was far more apparent than his numbers may have suggested across 53 games. His skillset is quite intriguing, especially if he’s able to fast-track those improvements.

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