As the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes begin to HEAT up (pun intended), the 2026 NBA Draft, which is now four days away, has rightfully taken a backseat.
In fairness, that’s when Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam set a deadline for a deal to be materialized. And the Miami Heat are eminently in the race for the two-time MVP.
However, while they are widely expected to deal their No. 13 overall selection in next Tuesday’s draft, should a trade occur this weekend, their annual draft party is still on. The party is expected to be on Tuesday, June 23, at 7 p.m. EST.
“The Miami HEAT will host a free 2026 NBA Draft Party at Kaseya Center,” the Heat said in a release. “Fans can enjoy an exciting Draft Night experience with immersive activities across the arena bowl. The first 1,000 fans to enter will receive a commemorative HEAT scarf courtesy of Ticketmaster.
“The event also features a pop-up HEAT Store, special giveaways, photo opportunities, and more. The evening will also give fans the chance to watch as the HEAT makes its selection with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.”
The Miami Heat also own the No. 41 pick in next week’s draft.
Now, while we know the top-25 of this class is rich with talent, we know nobody wants to see the Heat picking for themselves in next week’s draft. If they do, we know the likely implications as it pertains to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Either way, because of the league’s silly moratorium, they will be drafting — for either them or Milwaukee. And they will have their annual party for fans to indulge … though if Antetokounmpo is anything but a member of the Heat, there will be pandemonium.
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I have a strong feeling Ware is destined for a long and productive career with proper coaching and mentoring. Miami fans wait for years to get a legit center to be able to slide BA to PF and poof…he’s gone.
I hope Miami doesn’t regret trading him, if they do in fact trade him.
1…………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!
is the loneliness number that you’e ever hear…
Herro for Stewart and Uncan. DeRozan MLE. Wiggins, Jovic and 2nd rounder for Ja. and draft. Lederborg. Take 2 aspirins and call me in the morning.
Well, I don’t know if the Heat competes much with its brother hockey franchise, the Panthers. But, the Panthers just made a trade that makes them easily the best team in hockey when their injuries are all healed, which they already have. I know you don’t win anything on paper, but the Panthers have a roster that goes about six deep in all stars on offense alone, and they arguably have two more on defense and one in goal. It’s a team that will be expected to win it all, with really only injuries able to stop them.
So, mediocrity is really not an option for the Heat, if they can avoid it.
One more thing, I always tell you how great the Panthers GM Bill Zito is. Well, he proved it again today.
Couple things. With many of these trade scenarios gashing the roster…is there any guarantee Giannis & Bam’s games have any real chemistry to impact winning? Who knows. We’ve seen so many times collecting talent isn’t the answer. What kind of chemistry will Giannis have with Spo? Again who knows. What happened to Larsson becoming the next Thunder Dan or Kaspar the next Goran…we’ll never know. Also if everything clicks it’ll still take this massive roster restructuring at least a couple years for a championship contending team. Well…that’s about the time Giannis turns 35. So for me…blowing up the team for one guy and to basically start over is desperate & reckless. Yeah…make some smart subtle changes & stay the course.
Nothing yet. I dont know if I should be happy or not.
You should be happy we’re closer to the end than the beginning. Regardless of the outcome you want, it’ll be over soon, and that makes me happy
Could the Heat package Herro, Ware, and the #13 pick for the Clippers #5 pick?
Would that be better than trading for Giannis?
Slight dollar disperity.
It’s less about the literal trade, and more about the theoretical question: If the Heat are gonna trade all their assets, are they better off trading for an MVP past his prime, or going all-in for a young guard to pair with Bam for the next decade?
But if it’s just a money question, Bogdan Bogdanavic and John Collins make $40 million per year. I’m sur they could make the trade work
If they were able to make the money work, I’d want their #5 and #36 pick for Herro, Ware and #13. At 22, Ware has the age of many in any draft and would be a reasonable choice at #15. So, they would get a 13 and a 15 plus a good offensive player for their 2 picks. And Ware is a known talent level.
What player(s) would Clippers need to throw in to make the dollars match? Who would the Heat target with #5 pick?
Darius Acuff who will be the best player out of this draft when it’s all said and done. Made it further and carried his team further than the top 4 players in front of him gave his all every game and also played injured (was in a walking boot and played the same day something Peterson or Aj never did.
Could the Heat package Herro, Ware, and the #13 pick for the Clippers #5 pick?
Herro $33.0M + Ware + $4.7M + #13 pick
-for-
#5 pick
Did I miss something?
John Collins plus Benedict Mathurin is about equal salary to Herro and Ware. I just didn’t include them because the details are irrelevant. The question is: could the Heat trade for the 5th pick?
Benedict Mathuran plus Bogdan Bogdananavic equals 90% of Tyler Herro’s contract. Throw in a third team if you need to. The money would work itself out.
As far as who the Heat would pick – that is the literal billion dollar question. I don’t know, I don’t watch college basketball. But if the Heat could trade for a superstar rookie guard, isn’t that better than trading for Giannis?
I feel like, if the Heat can get THE GUY with the #5 pick, I don’t care what else is in the trade. Get a superstar guard to pair with Bam and there is no such thing as an overpay
That’s a fun idea.
Does LA want to score first guards targeted on defense in their starting five though?
DOS!……
I just read the most the Heat are apparently offering for Giannis Antetokounmpo is:
That’s not as bad as some are reporting. However, Milwaukee is demanding much more (additional young players and picks/pick swaps).
F*** em!
I saw that and posted it on the previous thread. That actually would be a good deal for us. If the rumored deal for Herro happened, it would give the Bucks another draft pick plus Stewart and maybe LeVert ends up here. That could result in Ware, Jaquez, Jovic, Stewart, plus 3 draft picks. Not bad for them either. They could get a better deal or wait until the end of the season and lose him for nothing.
At this point, the Heat offer is what it is. If the Bucks don’t take it by the draft, the Heat would be smart to go to Plan-B
The Heat should have Plan B and Plan C ready to go now…before the draft.
I just saw this trade proposal. I would do it. Miami still preserves most of its picks and young players.
Dallas Mavericks receive: Tyler Herro, Pelle Larsson and No. 13 pick
Miami Heat receive: Kyrie Irving, No. 30 pick and No. 48 pick
That would give Miami 3 second round picks this year.
Interesting. Now you’re making me revisit that second round mock draft.
#30: Joshua Jefferson
#41: Trevon Brazile
#48: Bruce Thornton
Per tankathon projections with profiles.
https://www.tankathon.com/mock-draft
Per Draft Room
#30 Zuby Ejiofor
#41 Joshua Jefferson
#48 Oweh Ortega (interesting player)
Sounds like Miami has several good choices.
I’m only interested in a player like Kyrie if the Heat get Giannis first. Otherwise I’d rather go younger
Gutting the team based on the reports make no sense. Throwing away years of drafts, training, coaching, etc. is beyond comprehension. Stay the course.
I agree. I too happen to like the young core Miami has drafted and been developing the past few years (Ware, Jaquez, Larsson, Jakucionis) and would like to see them continue to grow together.
With its 2026 and 2027 draft picks, (which could possibly end up being two lottery players), a couple of shrewd trades (such as Herro to Detroit, Memphis or Houston), a couple of expiring contracts and a substantial increase in cap space, the Heat could go whale hunting in the not-too-distant future and build a young, strong contending team.
Some folks just don’t have the patience to do it the right way. They prefer having the illusion that the team can contend immediately with the snap of a finger, whether or not it really can, and are willing to sacrifice the team’s long term success for their short term gratification.
Hey, this is America. People generally get what they want, whether or not they are right or whether or not it is for the best. Don’t believe me, take a look at who the people voted for to run the country.
stay the course? Why? So we can break the record for most play-in appearances in a row?
Listen, if you want to watch this team fight for the play-in, like they have every year since the pandemic, be my guest. If the Heat don’t upgrade this roster next season, I’m not watching
But I don’t think, no matter what happens, they will be staying the course.
I wonder what the course will be if Plan A doesn’t work out?
I’d guess B would be Kawhi, Ja. C should be best available at 13 and area of need at 41, maybe buy into another second round pick (usually doesn’t cost much)..
Clippers have already made it known they do not intend to trade Kahwi. Ja may have more than one team interested in him if the price is right.
We will see how long that lasts. Also miami is one of the few teams that ja likes, and lastly his contract is so bad that most teams are probably expecting Memphis to attach a draft pic to offload him. With miami all we gotta do is a trade away herro and jovic.
There is more than one way to skin a cat. Gutting a team is just one of them. Put all your eggs in one basket and roll the dice.
I agree with this comment Oregoner. Staying the course as our approach has its own concerns.
What if the Heat hosts its annual party without a first round pick? It probably happens a lot around the league.
Kind of like having a birthday party and the guest of honor not showing up.
If Bucks don’t accept Heat’s offer by Draft day, Miami should keep 2026 pick and replace it with 2032 first rounder. F around and find out!
More like the Giannis Party
Or a moving on party. There’s still plenty of time for Heat to explore all options. The season is still months away.
It sure does seem as though it puts a great deal of pressure on Milwaukee’s owners. The last thing they want is to face the wrath of Giannis or the fans if they miss out on the best offer available. They can’t really accept an inferior offer from a team located where Giannis doesn’t want to play. They can’t do nothing without risking having him walk away next summer as a free agent. Their choices are limited.