The Miami Heat made arguably the biggest move of the offseason when they pulled the trigger on longtime trade target Giannis Antetokounmpo via a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. However, the Heat’s start to the 2026-27 season has been less than ideal. They currently sit at 2-5 and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings. If things don’t improve as the season progresses, count former NBA player DeMarcus Cousins as one who believes the Greek Freak could choose to bolt the Heat.
“100 percent. And it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go back to Milwaukee. For some reason, my gut is telling me that anyway,” Cousins said during a recent segment of FanDuel’s NBA show, ‘Run It Back.’ “I don’t know anything, this is just my gut feeling. But the way that Milwaukee loaded up on young talent, assets, I could see a return happening. And it always felt like he never really wanted to leave Milwaukee.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly will have the option to potentially leave the Heat as he has a player option he can opt out of and become an unrestricted free agent at the season’s end. And it’s worth noting that Antetokounmpo himself did not shut the door on a Bucks’ return à la Kevin Garnett returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves after winning a title with the Boston Celtics.
Article Continues BelowThe 10-time All-Star has appeared in all seven games for the Heat so far this season, at a little over 31 minutes per game. He’s averaging 28.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists with splits of 58.6 percent shooting from the field, 23.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 61.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
But as far as would he really leave the Heat after only one season, that might