Heat has ways, albeit it’s difficult, to acquire two stars

We’re already starting to hear the question from greedy Heat fans: Is it possible to add not just one more All-Star — but two — over the next year?

Spoiler alert: It is, but it would require fortuitous timing, two stars wanting to do it, willingness of other teams to cooperate and acceptance of what could be a luxury tax bill for years to come.

And it would need to be done through trades, because once the Heat adds one max-caliber player, there wouldn’t be the cap space to add another by merely signing that player.

But what about the Heat getting Giannis Antetokounmpo and either 2021 free agents Victor Oladipo, Jrue Holiday or De’Aaron Fox?

Absolutely possible, though Miami would need other teams to cooperate, which is the unknown variable. Getting both Antetokounmpo and Washington’s Bradley Beal would be possible within cap rules, though harder to pull off from a trade compensation standpoint.

Here’s how the Heat could create a team with four All-Stars ( Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and two new ones):

Step one: When free agency begins on Friday, attach a second-year team option to Goran Dragic’s and/or Jae Crowder’s contracts to give the Heat another contract to help facilitate a trade during the 2021 offseason.

Step two: Trade for an AllStar-caliber player in the final year of his contract before this upcoming season’s trade deadline but try not to relinquish Tyler Herro in the deal, because you might need him in a trade for a star free agent next summer.

If Indiana’s Oladipo (who can be an unrestricted free agent in 2021) and Sacramento’s Fox (restricted in 2021) hypothetically tell their teams they want out before the trade deadline, Miami could try to get one of them by offering Duncan Robinson and/or Kendrick Nunn, Kelly Olynyk’s expiring contract (presuming he exercises his $12.2 million player option by Thursday’s deadline) and the player the Heat selects 20th overall in Wednesday’s draft (if Miami keeps the pick) and KZ Okpala.

Keep in mind that Miami is not permitted to trade any future first-round pick because of restrictions tied to Oklahoma City already owning two future Heat first-rounders. Miami cannot trade a future first-round pick until after the 2021 NBA Draft.

If Miami could acquire Oladipo or Fox before this upcoming season’s trade deadline, it would preserve their Bird Rights next offseason and could exceed the cap to re-sign them.

It’s impossible to see a path to acquire Holiday — and certainly not Beal — without relinquishing Herro.

Step three: Convince Antetokounmpo to sign here next offseason. If Miami has a sense before the start of 2021 free agency that it could land Antetokounmpo or another quality free agent, the Heat then could exercise the hypothetical 2021-22 team options on Dragic or Crowder and/or Andre Iguodala’s $15 million team option for 2021-22 and use those contracts to facilitate a sign-and-trade to get that top free agent.

If the Heat asks Milwaukee to facilitate a sign-and-trade for Antetokounmpo next summer, the Bucks certainly could ask for Herro.

The Heat could counter by instead offering a future firstround pick and to facilitate a Bucks sign-and-trade for restricted free agents Nunn or Robinson if either one of those players is on the Heat at that point. Teams can trade restricted and unrestricted free agents as part of sign-and-trades in the same deal as long as the restricted free agent hasn’t signed an offer sheet with the team acquiring the player, NBA cap expert Larry Coon tells me.

If you’re Milwaukee, the question is whether you would accept, say, the Iguodala and Crowder expiring contracts plus a signand-trade for Nunn and/or Robinson and a future first-rounder to help Miami sign Antetokounmpo.

The Bucks could tell the Heat this: “If you don’t give us Herro, then forget it. Let Giannis go sign with a team that has cap space.”

Keep in mind that teams over the salary cap can receive no more than 125 percent plus $100,000 compared to what they send out.

The dream scenario of acquiring Beal and Antetokounmpo also hypothetically can be achieved, but would need not only both players wanting to come here (Beal via trade, Antetokounmpo via sign-and-trade in free agency), but the Wizards and Bucks cooperating in helping build a potential superpower in

Miami. And those are huge ifs.

A Beal deal likely would require Herro and Robinson or Nunn among other pieces, because the Heat wouldn’t be able to offer a future first-rounder until the summer of 2021. That would leave Miami with few assets to offer Milwaukee in an Antetokounmpo sign-and-trade scenario.

Here’s one important dynamic to keep in mind:

When a team acquires a player via sign-and-trade (as Miami would be doing in this four-star scenario), the team must operate under a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hardcapped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron is $6 million above the luxury tax line; the apron was $138.9 million this past season and this upcoming season, with the cap at $109 million. The 2021-22 apron will fall between $140 million and $149 million.

Most of these four-star scenarios involving Butler, Adebayo, Antetokounmpo and either Beal or Fox or Oladipo or even 2021 restricted free agent Donovan Mitchell (should he ask out of Utah) could be achieved under this rule, but in most cases, Miami would need to fill out the roster with minimum contracts.

CHATTER

Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith, the draft’s best shooter, conducted a private workout with the Heat but could be gone by Miami’s 20th overall pick. He shot 52 percent on threes in 14 games last season.

Preston Williams’ serious foot injury makes it likely Miami will use one of its two first-round or two second-round picks on a receiver in April. It’s one of the draft’s deepest positions and the Dolphins know they need a durable No. 2 receiver.

The Dolphins have interest in extending tight end Mike Gesicki’s contract beyond 2021, but we hear his camp wants big money.

Keep this in mind Sunday: The Chargers blitz the least of any NFL team (13.8 percent of drop backs), and Tua Tagovailoa has been great when not blitzed, completing 72.7 percent of his passes with two TD throws and a 117.1 passer rating.

The Marlins’ contract with Fox Sports Florida has expired, and even though talks are ongoing, it won’t be surprising if a new deal isn’t struck until January or February.

According to a source, Sinclair, which now owns the Fox regionals, hasn’t yet acquiesced to giving the Marlins more than three times the $18 million to

$20 million that it received under its expiring contract — which was the worst in baseball. So both sides will wait this out.

It’s vital that the Marlins significantly increase their TV revenue, because that money is needed to augment the payroll and keep more of the team’s best young players when they become free agents in two to six years (depending on the player).

One problem is that there’s no legitimate TV competitor to challenge Sinclair for Marlins rights. The Marlins do have an alternative, however: They could move their games to a vehicle such as YouTube or Amazon, though that’s considered something of a long shot.