If they did trade for him, they must do what they can to keep Kasparas Jaku\u010dionis out of it. He has good defensive instincts and works well as a connector going into year two. On top of that, he\u2019s gotten jacked over the summer, which is important because the playoffs show every year that strength is a huge factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Keeping him would be a big help in putting the right pieces around Giannis, yet, it would be hard to get more of the right role players like Shane Battier and Mike Miller from the Big Three days, or some like Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala during the Orlando bubble around them in short order. <\/p>\n
Of course, LeBron James\u2019 meltdown in 2011 cost the Heat that ring, but consider how important a useful role player is over someone like Mike Bibby. Those are the guys that hit six trifectas in a championship game or make big buckets without a shoe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0In the best case scenario, the Giannis trade for Miami would be running back to the Jimmy Butler years. Who knows how 2020 goes if Goran Dragi\u0107 and Bam Adebayo weren\u2019t wounded at the end? In the worst case, it would be close to the Carmelo Anthony trade to New York 2.0.<\/p>\n
Think about how Knicks making that move was a waste of time since they only won one series against the ancient Boston Celtics without Rajon Rondo because the pieces weren\u2019t good enough around Anthony, and most importantly, he wasn\u2019t that type of player. <\/p>\n
On top of that, that trade included the first-round pick that turned into Jamal Murray, the second-best player on a championship team in 2023, to the Denver Nuggets.<\/p>\n
![\"Giannis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01ksz2p1wbwj1ye5q35w.jpg\" "\\"Giannis")
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Mar 12, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives to the basket against Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) and forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
In Giannis\u2019 case, he has proved he is that guy and nowhere near the poor leader that Anthony was, yet he is going to be asked to do too much offensively and history will only care for results when the minimum requirements for this trade to be a success is multiple Finals trips and one ring. Unless, Adebayo does the rare thing of taking his game to another level in his 30s. No one should be surprised if that becomes an impossibility and Giannis is frustrated by year two, just like Butler was.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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