Miami Heat Face Crucial 2026 Offseason With Eyes on Giannis Antetokounmpo
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The Miami Heat enter the 2026 NBA offseason determined to shake off three straight years of middling results and are reportedly zeroing in on Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo as their top target.
Review of 2025-26
Miami improved to 43-39 last season, six wins better than the year before, but was bounced in the 9-vs-10 play-in game by Charlotte after center Bam Adebayo left early with a back injury. The defeat marked the club’s third consecutive early exit since its surprise run to the 2023 NBA Finals.
Key Moves Last Summer
• Re-signed guards Davion Mitchell and Dru Smith to team-friendly contracts.
• Acquired wing Norman Powell from Minnesota in exchange for Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love.
Mitchell delivered a career-best 6.5 assists per game while hitting 39.5% from deep as the starting point guard. Smith, coming off a torn Achilles, logged 70 appearances and became a dependable reserve. Powell earned his first All-Star selection, averaging 23.0 points on .474/.396/.843 shooting before injuries slowed him after the break.
Roster Challenges
All-Star guard Tyler Herro missed the first month after ankle surgery and appeared in only 33 games due to additional ailments. The club also paid more than $26 million to Terry Rozier, who sat out the entire season following an arrest tied to a federal illegal-gambling investigation.
Adebayo remained Miami’s defensive anchor and authored an 83-point explosion on March 10 against Washington, yet finished the season with a career-low 44.2% field-goal percentage.
Front-Office Mind-Set
Team president Pat Riley has historically avoided rebuilds, preferring aggressive pursuits that previously landed LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010 and Jimmy Butler in 2019. According to multiple reports, the Heat submitted the offer Milwaukee weighed most seriously at February’s trade deadline and can now sweeten that package with this year’s No. 13 overall pick, which was unavailable then because of the Stepien rule.
League sources describe Miami as the leading suitor for Antetokounmpo, but the organization is preparing for extensive roster work whether or not it secures the two-time MVP—either by constructing a supporting cast around him and Adebayo or by pivoting to an alternative plan.
With the NBA’s revamped lottery affording play-in teams a better shot at high draft selections, remaining in the middle no longer carries the same stigma. Even so, the Heat’s leadership has made clear that another season of merely average results is not an option.
Source: Hoops Rumors
