What would the Miami Heat give up for Giannis?

The Miami Heat continue to be mentioned among potential landing spots for the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo after rumors have snowballed since last week's ESPN report that their partnership may be ending.

This time around, after being mentioned on The Ringer's The Zach Lowe Show as a place where the 2021 Finals MVP would really love to land if not New York, the rationale for the Miami Heat's potential trade package was discussed.

"Miami, to me falls into the Atlanta [Hawks] bucket of, 'Given that I'm I'm not good enough now and I'm not sure what my roadmap to being good enough in the next four years is, it's probably worth a swing for me," Zach Lowe began. "Now, I'm going to have to give up [Kel'el] Ware, that's just non-negotiable, and so I'll probably have to find a backup big somewhere else, maybe it's Jericho Sims. And so, farewell, Ware-Bam experiment."

Zach Lowe on Miami trade package for Giannis

“Im going to have to give up Ware, that’s non negotiable. Farewell Bam/Ware experiment. Probably give up Herro + something else. For money to work I may have to do a 4 for 2 deal and take Kyle Kuzma back… I may be in a position where… https://t.co/HExNpMFmuK pic.twitter.com/DSXdYfWezG
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) December 11, 2025

Ware, the 15th pick in the 2024 Draft, has been in and out of the starting lineup for the Heat this season, and his minutes in flux despite being a fan favorite from the start. With his contract locked in for the next 2.5 seasons, Ware is averaging 11.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, a block and a steal in 24 minutes per game.

"I'm going to probably have to give up a [Tyler] Herro, and to get up to the money, I'm going to have to give up something else, and I may actually have to make it a four-for-two trade where we take [Kyle] Kuzma back because of the money realities," Lowe said. "Does [Andrew] Wiggins have to be involved in that? Well now I've given up two starters."

Both of those players, (along with Ware), are somewhat likely candidates to begin with in any potential package for Antetokounmpo. Herro, 25, has already made an All-Star team, will be due for a contract extension this offseason, and is from Wisconsin.

Wiggins has a player option coming up and could be flipped at the trade deadline if they wanted to. Combining to earn $59 million this season, their money more than matches Antetokounmpo's $54 million salary.

"Can I flip [Terry] Rozier in the Wiggins spot? We don't even know if we're allowed to trade Rozier," Lowe said. "It gets complicated, but to me, and they only have two picks to trade as of now, could they get the one back they traded for Rozier? I don't know, nobody knows, Bobby Marks and Brian Windhorst wrote about this yesterday."

Rozier's $26.6 million contract, if there was any clarity on whether or not he can be traded given his current legal situation, could be useful for other teams as a salary-matching trade chip or just as cap relief for the upcoming summer since he's on the last year of his deal.

"But they have some interesting young players. The guy they just drafted, [Kasparas] Jakučionis, who hasn't played yet. [Nikola] Jović, who's out of the rotation, whatever. You gotta love Kel'el Ware, and I'm pretty high on Kel'el Ware," Lowe said. "That's the one where it's like, I might be in a position where I'm already choosing between [Norman] Powell and Herro long-term, medium-term, so trading one is not hurting me that much. That's worth it to me."

The Heat have had some of their young players stand out in recent years. Ware made the All-Rookie Second Team last season, Jaime Jaquez Jr. made the All-Rookie First Team in 2024 and is having a resurgent season so far.

Jakučionis, who was long considered the second-best point guard prospect in last year's class before injury), has shown intriguing flashes as a two-way playmaker throughout Summer League, preseason and the G League. 2024 second-rounder Pelle Larsson has started 17 of the Heat's 25 games as a two-way connector.

Jović did enough to get an early contract extension before this season, but has struggled. Moreover, the poison pill provision on his contract would make him extra complicated to trade for. For any team acquiring him, his contract would count as $13.6 million, (average of his salary this season combined with his extension money). For the Heat, it would count as his current salary, ($4.4 million).

Along with this, the Heat can offer two first round picks, (in 2029 and 2031), along with up to four first round pick swaps. They can't offer more due to the 2027 pick owed to the Charlotte Hornets via the 2023 Rozier trade.

In 17 games this season, Antetokounmpo is averaging about 29 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block, converting on about 64 percent of his field goals.

For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket

What would the Miami Heat give up for Giannis?

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For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket