After multiple seasons of speculation regarding his future in Milwaukee, the Bucks and Heat have agreed to a massive multi-pick & player swap for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The full deal will see Miami send Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparov Jakucionis, 3 first round picks, and 1 second round pick to the Bucks. In exchange, they will receive Giannis and veteran forward Bobby Portis. As it currently stands, the two teams are the only clubs involved in the deal, however sources indicate that the deal will not be executed until July 6th, leaving the door open for another team to hop in and expand the framework.
Once completed, the deal will likely give Heat a new look rotation of Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis, and Bam Adebayo. The 31 year old Portis will serve as a good depth piece for the team’s bench, but outside of that, the team is looking rather thin, leading many to believe that Miami may have some additional moves up their sleeve.
As of January, Giannis will be eligible to sign a 4 year, $275M extension if he opts out of his current deal. The 10x All-Star has spent the entirety of his 13 year NBA career in Milwaukee, earning 2x MVPs, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and helping to bring an NBA championship to the city in 2021.
While the parting is bittersweet for Bucks fans, it ends the ongoing saga of “will he or won’t he” between the media and Giannis which had dogged the team for the last two NBA campaigns. It’s also interesting to note that the team appears to have preferred the picks and young players package Miami was willing to offer vs. that of a star player and fewer picks which Boston was believed to have been dangling this summer.
Reports out of Milwaukee indicated that the team had narrowed their options down to two in recent days, that of the Heat, and a package from Boston which included Jaylen Brown and two first round picks. By going with Miami’s deal, the team will now restock a mostly depleted cupboard of picks, while also scooping up several controllable contracts in the process.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Tyler Herro who grew up just outside Milwaukee, while the team also picks up the 6th Man of the Year runner up in Jaquez and a 22 year old 7 footer in Ware. Jakucionis was the number 20 pick in last year’s draft and averaged 6.2 points across 17.8 minutes per night and could thrive in an expanded role.
They’ll also add a 2026 1st (13th overall), a 2031 unprotected 1st, a 2033 unprotected 1st, a 2030 1st round pick swap, and a 2033 second rounder to their war chest as well.
By completing the deal now, Milwaukee can see what kind of market there may be for either Herro or forward Kyle Kuzma before draft night. It also adds clarity for new coach Taylor Jenkins as to what direction the team is headed in, allowing him to help shape the roster into his vision for the club.
Centre Myles Turner has also popped up in the latest trade rumours, with several sources indicating that the Toronto Raptors could be interested in the former Pacer should he become available. With draft night kicking off on June 23rd, there’s a good chance that the Giannis deal could be just the tip of the iceberg for trades in the lead up to the 8pm ET event.
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.