![\"Giannis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286423670-e1784290643317.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Giannis Antetokounmpo #7 of the Miami Heat speaks to the media during an introductory press conference at Kaseya Center on July 16, 2026 in Miami, Florida. <\/p>\n
The Miami Heat<\/a> gutted a lot of their roster depth in their relentless pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n Beyond surrendering Tyler Herro, Kel\u2019el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis in the trade, the Heat were forced to let All-Star guard Norman Powell leave due to salary-cap constraints. Consequently, Miami enters next season without a reliable primary ball-handler. While Giannis Antetokounmpo has excelled as a point-forward\u2014averaging at least 6.5 assists in two of the last three seasons\u2014he remains an untraditional floor general. Facing late-game blitzes and wall defenses, the \u201cGreek Freak\u201d urgently needs a secondary playmaker to share the burden.<\/p>\n Enter Russell Westbrook, the former MVP and 9-time All-Star who remains unsigned.<\/p>\n Should Miami Heat Sign Russell Westbrook?<\/p>\n Sports Illustrated\u2019s Blake Silverman<\/a> has made the argument that Westbrook and the Heat would be a natural fit.<\/p>\n \u201cMany top teams are set in the backcourt, but the Heat need depth, specifically at guard, after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n The writer argued that although Westbrook won\u2019t help the Heat solve their perimeter shooting issues, he\u2019d help set up other shooters with his elite dribble-penetration.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other glaring need of the new-look Miami roster is three-point shooting after Tyler Herro was included in the big trade and Norman Powell went to the Bulls<\/a> in free agency. Westbrook doesn\u2019t help in that sense, but he\u2019d help address one of the team\u2019s biggest weaknesses on paper as a playmaker off the bench for Miami\u2019s new superstar duo of Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a suddenly stacked Eastern Conference, the Heat must add impactful rotation players on veteran minimum deals and Westbrook fits the bill,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Miami Heat Warned About Westbrook<\/p>\n The Heat have reportedly toyed with the idea of bringing in Russell Westbrook, but they\u2019ve been advised against signing the journeyman guard, who has played for six different franchises over the last seven seasons.<\/p>\n According to Miami Herald\u2019s Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was warned about possibly bringing Westbrook to South Beach.<\/p>\n \u201cAn NBA<\/a> source who has relationships with Erik Spoelstra and other coaches said that a coach that Spoelstra trusts told him that he advised the Heat not to sign Westbrook, asserting that he\u2019s difficult to coach,\u201d a report indicated in late July.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the Heat may have no choice but to take the gamble. Westbrook\u2019s relentless hustle, pace, rebounding and veteran leadership could give their top-heavy roster the spark it desperately needs.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings<\/a> reportedly remain interested in bringing Westbrook back to serve as a mentor for their rookie point guard, Darius Acuff Jr.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Kings, his most recent team, remain open to a reunion, team sources said, but are also understanding that Westbrook might not be as interested in playing a reduced role behind prized rookie Darius Acuff Jr.,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Anthony Slater<\/a> wrote last week.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSai Mohan<\/a> covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sportswriter with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit and more. More about Sai Mohan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo #7 of the Miami Heat speaks to the media during an introductory press conference at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-365970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}