MIAMI — A case could be made that everything changed for the Miami Heat when the Milwaukee Bucks on June 22 agreed to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Yet when asked last week about his team’s dramatic change last season to a movement system that largely eschewed pick-and-roll offense, Erik Spoelstra said it could well be more of the same, even with Antetokounmpo aboard.

“The principles,” the Heat coach said of last season’s offense, “will probably be something we’ll lean into.”

And if LeBron James joins the roster, as the Heat and the rest of the NBA await his decision in free agency?

Then expect change, plenty of change.

It is why, just as the league remains on hold, largely so, too, does the Heat’s game planning for next season.

With a LeBron reunion, even what is in place at the moment could be significantly altered.

So, for now, everything in pencil.

Within a few days, either erasers out with a James arrival, or starting to put into ink what 2026-27 will look like for the Heat.

Starting lineup

Without LeBron: At the moment, even with Tim Hardaway Jr. having thrived as a sixth man last season with the Denver Nuggets, placing third in the vote for Sixth Man of the Year behind winner Keldon Johnson and former Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., the Heat are setting up to open with a lineup of Bam Adebayo at center, Antetokounmpo and Andrew Wiggins at forward, and Hardaway and Davion Mitchell at guard.

With LeBron: Such a reality would ease Hardaway’s move back to the bench and beef up the first five, likely along the lines of Adebayo at center, Antetokounmpo and James at forward, and Wiggins and Mitchell at guard.

While Wiggins at shooting guard might be a stretch defensively, he has shown such chops in his defensive assignments with the Heat, with Adebayo also capable of such challenges, perhaps leaving James to defend opposing centers of limited offensive leanings. According to Basketball Reference, Wiggins played 29% of his Heat minutes at shooting guard in 2024-25 and 16% last season.

Reserve rotation

Without LeBron: Depending on if Hardaway or Pelle Larsson starts at shooting guard, the other player would play a major role off the bench. It also could move second-round pick Ryan Conwell into a rotation role, with Dru Smith the other option.

Without James’ bulk, it also could require more from Nikola Jovic, to get more size into the rotation.

With LeBron: This is where James’ versatility comes into play, able to shift to virtually any spot in the lineup.

With James in place, it could reduce the need to play Smith at backup point guard. If James is making 3-pointers, it could reduce the need to inject Simone Fontecchio into the mix.

And with the win-now mandate even clearer in a season James turns 42, player development for the likes of Conwell and others likely will come on the side.

Roster construction

Without LeBron: If James does not sign on, it would leave the Heat free to fill out the standard roster as Pat Riley has suggested, with a 3-point shooter and another big body.

With the Heat so tight against the hard cap created by the Antetokounmpo signing, the Heat likely will only add two more to the standard roster and start the season with 14 such players, one shy of the NBA roster limit.

With LeBron: Foremost, this will be a case of how James signs, whether it is for the $3.9 million minimum or whether he takes the remainder of the Heat’s mid-level exception of about $8 million. Whatever isn’t spent on James would then go to a final component for the standard roster. With James taking less, it could make it easier to entice a player from the buyout market (Klay Thompson?).

Further, win-now mode would be lifted to an even higher level, which could make it interesting to see if the Heat would swallow the $500,000 guarantee to Myron Gardner to add yet another veteran, perhaps James favorite and former Heat component Kevin Love.

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