Report: The Miami Heat And Toronto Raptors Are The Favourites To Land Giannis Antetokounmpo In The 2021 NBA Off-Season If He Decides To Leave Milwaukee.
With the Milwaukee Bucks finally winning a game against the Miami Heat, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future remains high. Even though Giannis left the game in the second quarter due to an ankle sprain, Kris Middleton single-handedly brought the Bucks back from the dead and ended up hitting a three-pointer that would seal the game in overtime. This was a crucial victory for Milwaukee as they still have a chance to win this series. However, this victory ensures that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s decision to pursue a different team becomes challenging. The reality is, this year’s playoffs determines whether or not Milwaukee is the right place for Giannis Antetokounmpo to win a championship!
Khris Middleton played an exceptional game four that kept Milwaukee’s season alive. His performance not only displayed how clutch he is as a player but also how reliable he can be when the team needs him the most. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player in the Eastern Conference and on his team, but basketball is a team sport and not an individual sport. In the bubble, the Bucks have lost more games than they have won due to how one-dimensional their offence is. Mike Budenholzer draws a simple play: give the basketball to Giannis Antetokounmpo and if he needs help, then pass the ball to an open shot. For most teams that have played against the Bucks, this scheme has worked, but Milwaukee has been struggling with Giannis on the floor against the Miami Heat. Milwaukee won this game to begin with because Mike Budenholzer finally had to coach his team and draw different plays that would move the basketball around the court. A strength that the Bucks have that hasn’t been displayed in this series is their ball movement and chemistry with each other. Giannis is the anchor on this team that led them into the first-seed, but he shouldn’t be the only player to score the basketball or drive inside the paint. Khris Middleton, George Hill, Donte Divincenzo, Brook Lopez, and Kyle Korver can shoot threes and a high rate while a player like Eric Bledsoe, a fast and strong point guard, can run inside the paint and be a ball facilitator.
The problem with this team is not that they are incapable of winning games, but they are incapable of drawing up different plays for other capable players. For instance, Miami Heat is winning this series because they are all aware of their strengths and weaknesses while also trusting one another with the ball. Almost half of their roster are either rookies or players who have never reached the playoffs in their professional careers! Tyler Herro made game four competitive and nailed three three-pointers in clutch time while only being a rookie! Most veteran players in the NBA can’t accomplish that level of dominance because they are not in a situation where they are trusted. Miami’s roster has trust, hence why they are the best team in the Eastern Conference!
Milwaukee’s number one priority is signing Giannis Antetokounmpo next season as he has been the best player to play for this franchise since Ray Allen! With Giannis potentially being a 2x MVP, a Defensive Player Of The Year, a 4x NBA All-Star, and a multiple time All-NBA player, the Bucks would be insane if they let him walk in free agency and should do everything in their power to make sure he is back in Milwaukee. However, with rumours speculating, the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat are the current frontrunners for the Greek Freak if he decides on leaving Milwaukee. Other teams such as the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks have also entered the conversation. However, Giannis joining a western conference team is unlikely considering how stacked the East is. LeBron James remained in the East for as long as he did due to how little the competition was for him, and as a result, he would win three championships while making the NBA finals nine times in a row! If the Milwaukee Bucks somehow fail to convince Giannis to stay, which team between Toronto and Miami would elevate his chances of winning an NBA championship?
A Trio That Would Never Work.
The Milwaukee Bucks are currently facing the Miami Heat while being on the brink of elimination. Even though Khris Middleton played out of his mind, the Miami Heat is still 3-1, which means that the Bucks have to win three more games in a row to eliminate the Miami Heat, which is highly unlikely. The competitive nature of Jimmy Butler is enough to ensure that game five will be a Heat victory, which would potentially embark on a new chapter in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s career!
The Miami Heat from the surface is a perfect match for Giannis Antetokounmpo. From Pat Riley’s intensity to the overall nature that Maimi exhibits, Giannis would flourish as a competitor and would have the ideal number two by his side in Jimmy Butler. Giannis exhibits the Mamba Mentality and works hard at his craft daily, which Miami stands for. However, the Heat are already the best team in the playoffs record-wise as they are 7-1. This level of dominance is due to their defence and ball movement, something that the Milwaukee Bucks are currently allergic too against the Heat.
Adding Giannis to the Miami Heat would be a fairy tale, but it wouldn’t work due to the Heat already possessing a star big man in Bam Adebayo. With the way that Miami is playing basketball, adding Giannis could break their momentum. Even though he is the best regular-season player in the NBA, Giannis proves that he cannot perform in the playoffs. In the 2019 NBA playoffs, the Bucks were more likely to make the NBA finals than the Toronto Raptors. Yet, they were destroyed in six games because Giannis Antetokounmpo could not handle Kawhi Leonard’s defence. With Giannis struggling early on in that series, the rest of the team struggled because their best player showed weakness. The same thing is happening in this series against the Heat as the Bucks are statistically worse when Giannis is on the floor!
The premise of Giannis Antetokounmpo joining the Miami Heat should work when evaluating the culture and expectations of hard work; however, the Heat already possesses a dominant defensive big man in Bam Adebayo, who has been the perfect fit for this team. Even though Giannis is easily the better player, Bam fits the system better. With Bam being able to facilitate the ball better than most centers in the NBA while having incredible athleticism, the Heat have made it as far as they are because of his contributions. Giannis Antetokounmpo might be able to provide twice as much as Bam in the regular season. However, Giannis has proven to be less reliable in the playoffs than any other superstar in the NBA except James Harden, who has been consistent in his inconsistency. Although this signing would make the Miami Heat the unanimous first seed in the Eastern Conference, their situation is much better without Giannis. They could potentially destroy everything that they have built over the last few seasons.
Giannis And The New Aged Raptors.
The Toronto Raptors last season gave a contract extension to power forward All-Star, Pascal Siakam. With his disappointing performance on both ends of the floor against the Boston Celtics, the Raptors offering him that amount of money appears to be a questionable offer.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is also a power forward, would find little to no value in joining the Raptors due to player guarantees. The Raptors this season prioritized signing Fred VanVleet, one of the better guards in the Eastern Conference and made a name for himself in the NBA finals. Furthermore, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol are also free agents this season and have shown no guarantee in returning to Toronto. Even though they both appear to be happy with the Raptors, Kawhi Leonard proved no guarantee that a player will return. The Raptors will have the most cap space in the NBA in the next two seasons, but no all-star calibre player will consider Toronto as a destination to represent due to the location. The Raptors may have the best fans in the NBA, but their location is arguably the worst.
The Raptors could potentially lose most of their depth in the next two seasons and will do their best to bring back every asset while also signing Giannis Antetokounmpo. Even if every player resigns, Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol would all be over 32 years old by the time Giannis comes to play. This entails that the Raptors will most likely not resign these players as it makes no sense considering their age and what contract offer they expect. With that being said, the new starting five with Giannis Antetokounmpo would be Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who would be the center for this team with Terrence Davis and Chris Boucher coming off the bench! On paper, this is an above-average team and could make some noise in the Eastern Conference, but when assessing the other teams in the East, this Raptors team would struggle! The reason why Toronto is as good as they are is due to Kyle Lowry’s leadership and IQ on the basketball court. Without Lowry, this team would be a first-round exit hence why he is the face of Toronto.
This year’s playoffs clearly show that Giannis Antetokounmpo is not a good playoff player. He may average ridiculous statistics, but if those stats do not contribute to wins, then those impressive numbers that he produces are empty stats. The Raptors are already struggling in the playoffs with shooting the basketball, adding Giannis Antetokounmpo would not elevate that problem. The Raptors are a pass-first type team and have flourished in that system, which means that Giannis may keep the Raptor’s relevance in the NBA, but he would add nothing in pursuing an NBA championship against teams like the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets! Pascal Siakam did flourish as a number two option, but Giannis on the Raptors would present more negatives than positives.
In the end, Giannis joining the Raptors or the Heat would ruin what both these teams are currently pursuing. Giannis in Toronto would be a better fit and could lead the Raptors to the conference finals, but once this team faces Miami or the Nets, the probability of Giannis defeating those teams would be unlikely. The best situation for Giannis Antetokounmpo is to stay in Milwaukee or join the Golden State Warriors if he wants to win a championship. Giannis is the best player in the NBA regular season, but with how he has impacted his team this postseason, Giannis might be the worst first-option in the second round of the playoffs. Giannis is the only player in the second-round that has negatively impacted his team, which is problematic if the Bucks want to win an NBA championship.
