Gambling Website Says Miami Heat Would Have To Move Bam Adebayo To Get Giannis

Shandel Richardson | Nov 5, 2024

Nov 2, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) brings the ball up the court against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

A gambling website gave the Miami Heat the best odds to land Milwaukee Bucks superstart Giannis Antetokounmpo before the trade dealine.

Bookies.com listed the Heat with +400 odds to make a deal for Antetokounmpo. There is a catch, however. The website suggests the Heat would have to give up center Bam Adebayo.

"The Heat were knocked out of the playoffs last spring by the Celtics in Round 1 after reaching the NBA Finals the previous season," wrote Adam Thompson of Bookies.com. Jimmy Butler is starting to play like someone whose time has expired in Miami. Talk of a Heat deal for Antetokounmpo often includes a third party. And the Heat would have to give up Bam Adebayo to get the Freak. But Adebayo’s off-season extension makes him an easy piece to move given his contractual stability. Antetokounmpo has reportedly let it be known that his preferred destination is Brooklyn, New York, or Golden State."

There are other ways the Heat could acquire Antetokounmpo.

CBS Sports' Bill Reiter spoke with an anonymous NBA executive who believes the Heat are one of the 29-year-old's two preferred destinations.

"An Eastern Conference NBA executive has already heard the places believed to be Giannis' would-be preferred destinations: "The teams I've heard are Miami and New York -- the Nets, not the Knicks," Reiter wrote.

The Heat could offer a package potentially centered around Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, and draft capital. The issue is there's a Western Conference contender that Reiter pointed out could trump the package of anyone else.

"There are also other teams with the means, in theory, to go after a player of Giannis' caliber. The Oklahoma City Thunder certainly come to mind, and I asked the Eastern Conference executive about the Thunder potentially making a run if Milwaukee's big man eventually wants out.," Reiter wrote.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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