The Miami Heat continue to be the surprise team of the season, holding a 26-10 win-loss record over in the NBA Eastern Conference. A big part of that is that head coach Erik Spoelstra has been getting a lot of mileage out of his young players like Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro. So far, both have blended well with veteran Jimmy Butler, the new face of the franchise.
Running third in the Eastern Conference, not too many are giving the ballclub a chance to win it all this 2019-20 NBA season. However, most know that at some point moving forward, Miami will be back on top. So the only question right now is when?
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN's "The Jump", it would be best to pay close attention to what team president Pat Riley is up to. Despite the presence of high-salaried and underperforming players, Miami is surviving. So one can just imagine what the Heat can pull off once their team salary budget becomes more flexible.
In the same show, former NBA player Kendrick Perkins mentioned how Giannis Antetokounmpo would fit in well with the Heat. He feels that the Greek Freak would be a phenomenal addition. And should that happen, expect many NBA players to want to play for Miami in the future, the Miami Herald reported.
It was not mentioned if Butler would still be around if the pursuit for Antetokounmpo heats up. But right now, it appears the 25-year-old is pretty much happy leading the Milwaukee Bucks franchise. This season, the 15th overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft is averaging 30.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per contest. These are considerably big jumps to his career numbers of 19.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Antetokounmpo agreed to a four-year extension with the Bucks back in 2016. He is due to make $25.8 million this season and $27.5 million next season. He will be an unrestricted free agent in 2021 and will be eligible for a veteran contract extension - better known as a supermax contract, Sports Illustrated reported. However, some prerequisites need to be fulfilled, such as length of tenure and league accolades.
Whatever happens, it seems the Bucks have the inside track on Antetokounmpo for now. Unless some friction develops from within, it will be hard to see the 6-foot-11 cager moving elsewhere. The Heat could try but need to address their internal personnel issues first.
