The Portland Trail Blazers were in position to chase Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason, and on paper, they had a real shot to make it happen. Thanks to the Damian Lillard blockbuster, Portland had the assets needed to get involved, but general manager Joe Cronin had every reason to be careful about paying that price without a real commitment from Antetokounmpo.
That hesitation makes even more sense now. Giannis had former teammate ties to Lillard and Jrue Holiday, but he still wasn’t interested in locking himself into Portland.
The biggest reason he wanted out of Milwaukee in the first place was simple: he wanted a chance to contend for a second ring. His situation was similar to Lillard’s in Portland, where years of coming up short eventually pushed the franchise to make a move, despite the personal connections he had to the city and the organization.
Lillard eventually figured out the grass wasn’t greener and came back to Portland after two seasons in Milwaukee, where he belongs. Whether Antetokounmpo ever takes a similar path back to the Bucks remains to be seen. A lot of that will depend on whether the Heat can actually look like real contenders with him in the mix.
Right now, that doesn’t look especially promising. Miami’s revamped roster already appears to have given up too much in the pursuit of Giannis, and the start has been brutal. The Heat sit with the worst record in the league after opening 0-4.
There were clearly other factors in Giannis’ decision beyond pure basketball fit. What was happening behind the scenes with the Giannis-Dame relationship is still unclear.
He also seemed to prefer staying in the Eastern Conference, where the travel back to Greece is shorter and the path to the Finals may have looked easier. Portland couldn’t offer either of those things.
The Heat should probably still climb back into the playoff mix as the season goes on. But after this rough beginning, it’s hard to call them a true contender with Giannis attached.
The issue isn’t only the fit. It’s also what the rest of the roster looks like after going all-in for a top-five player.
From a winning standpoint, Portland may have been the smarter landing spot all along. The Blazers looked like one of the few teams that actually checked every box in the Antetokounmpo chase: they showed interest, they had future assets that could help jumpstart a rebuild, and they had enough depth to stay competitive even after a major swing.
That’s what made Portland such an overlooked dark horse. They probably would not have had to give up much in the way of proven players, especially with the Bucks likely desperate to get control of their own future draft picks back.
Miami, meanwhile, is already dealing with the kind of depth concerns that show up fast when a team goes all-in. It’s the same warning sign that comes with any aggressive star chase, including the Phoenix Suns’ decision to go all-in for Kevin Durant, a move owner Mat Ishbia recently admitted was a mistake.
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