The Heat Should Not Trade Tyler Herro for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Miami Heat fans have made it very public that they want Giannis Antetokounmpo on their roster. In fact, Heat supporters have been asking for Pat Riley to make a move for the Bucks’ superstar for over two years now.
There is one name most involved in the conversation regarding a potential Giannis-to-Miami move: Tyler Herro. However, Miami making a move for Antetokounmpo could leave the roster in a dire situation, all due to one metric: spacing.
According to @basketballtalk from NBC Sports…
The Heat remain the STRONG FRONTRUNNERS in the Giannis race
" Pat Riley has made it clear Miami is big game hunting this summer. The Heat trade package for Antetokounmpo would be based around Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime… pic.twitter.com/kScUXIjr08
— Heat Lead
(@HeatLead) June 3, 2026
The Heat’s Perimeter Struggles
The Heat have not seen the most success from beyond the arc in recent years. That changed, though, in the second half of the 2025-26 NBA season. With Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. leading the charge from beyond the perimeter, Miami finally looked to find some luck there.
That same problem was seen early on in the 2025-26 season. The team was not constantly finding the best looks due to Herro’s injury, which kept him out for the first 17 games.
With that said, the Heat have made some key improvements over the past few years that have led to their perimeter shooting becoming significantly better.
Miami Has Made Spacing Improvements
Herro has always been an elite shooter, constantly in the conversation for best in the league. He made a big impact from beyond the arc in the 2025-26 season and even won this year’s NBA Three-Point Contest. After taking charge as the team’s top scorer, an improvement from beyond the arc has been visible.
The Powell trade has quietly become one of Miami’s best moves in recent years. The 33-year-old guard was moved to Miami for a small price of Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson, two exchangeable pieces.
In return, the Heat saw Powell have the best season of his career. For the first time ever, Powell found himself as an NBA All-Star. On top of that, he drastically improved Miami’s perimeter shooting, becoming the most consistent three-point shooter among the starters.
Sophomore sensation Kel’el Ware also had a breakout year, including from three-point range. Ware significantly improved his three-point percentage from 31.5% to 39.5% from year one to year two, while taking more shots.
Bam Adebayo has always created spacing concerns for Miami, but Ware’s shooting ability makes him the perfect fit alongside him.
Should the Heat Try to Trade for Giannis?
With that said, it wouldn’t be fair not to point out the positives that Antetokounmpo would bring to Miami. Adding him to this current Heat roster would give them arguably the most dominant frontcourt in the NBA.
However, the offensive output they’d provide in the paint won’t outweigh the output they’d be taking away from the perimeter. A pairing between the two would limit Miami’s spacing even more than it did during the Butler era. It’s fair to say that neither star has found their footing from beyond the arc.
Moving Ware back to the bench after his breakout year would simply be a bad long-term move. Not only did he show All-Star potential, but he was also able to stretch the floor, helping solve one of Miami’s biggest issues.
Simply put, moving Herro in a package would be the wrong move. It would create more problems than it solves, and would reverse the spacing improvements Miami has spent years building.
Although many Heat fans might not want to admit it, Herro and Ware in the starting five is a better fit for Miami’s current roster than trading for Antetokounmpo would be.
Unless the Heat are immediately able to fix spacing concerns, a blockbuster move for Antetokounmpo would create many flaws for Miami.
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