The Miami Heat have long been viewed as a possible trade landing spot for disgruntled Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, but one scenario reportedly would remove the Heat as a suitor. <\/p>\n
According to NBA insider Marc Stein<\/a>, one source “insisted” that Miami “should be scratched as a Morant suitor” if the trade would jeopardize the Heat’s chances of trading for Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. <\/p>\n Such a scenario might not arise, however, as Stein noted that “all indications are that Antetokounmpo will not be in trade play before the Feb. 5 deadline.”<\/p>\n Antetokounmpo himself said earlier this month that he hasn’t, and will never, request a trade from the Bucks after previous\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that he had done so.<\/p>\n “There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment, that I will come out and say ‘I want a trade,'” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic’s\u00a0Sam Amick<\/a>. “That’s not \u2026 in \u2026 my \u2026 nature. OK?”<\/p>\n Even if Antetokounmpo has no interest in being traded, Stein explained that it “won’t stop interested teams from continuing to plot future pursuits of” him. Stein added that the Heat believe they will be “firmly in the mix as a legit trade destination” for the two-time MVP if he becomes available at the end of the season.<\/p>\n Morant would be a much more affordable option than Antetokounmpo, but he wouldn’t be the needle-mover that Antetokounmpo would be.<\/p>\n