The Bucks have picked a winner in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.
Milwaukee shipped its Greek superstar to the Heat late Monday night, ending a saga that had dragged on since 2025.
In recent weeks, the Bucks were said to be choosing between a pick-heavy offer from Miami and a package from the Celtics that centered around star wingman Jaylen Brown.
In the end, the Heat traded a pick swap, a second-rounder, two first-rounders in the 2030s, the No. 13 pick in Tuesday night’s draft, Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Kasparas Jakucionis, according to ESPN.
Milwaukee is also sending out Bobby Portis Jr. in the deal, which cannot become official until July 6. Antetokounmpo has one year and $58 million remaining on his contract.
The Bucks reportedly wanted more young assets from the Celtics—Hugo González and Baylor Scheierman—and more first-round picks and pick swaps.
Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam was a “driving force” in the trade as he didn’t want to deal with another possible superstar eventually asking for a trade demand, according to Yahoo Sports. Aside from the prolonged saga with Antetokounmpo, Haslam, also the owner of the NFL’s Browns, recently traded superstar edge rusher Myles Garrett.
By taking Miami’s deal, Milwaukee can kickstart a rebuild after 13 seasons building around Antetokounmpo—including a 2021 championship that was the franchise’s first in 50 years.
The team has won just a single playoff series since then, and attempts to retool around Antetokounmpo have fallen short. These include trading Jrue Holiday and multiple picks for Damian Lillard in 2023, firing championship-winning head coach Mike Budenholzer, and trading Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma.
Their last-ditch effort to appease Antetokounmpo came last offseason, when they waived-and-stretched Lillard and signed Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million contract. Turner failed to rejuvenate their roster, while $22.5 million will sit on Milwaukee’s books until the 2029–30 season from stretching Lillard.
On the other hand, Miami finally acquired the superstar it’s been searching for since the era of the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the 2010s. While the Heat acquired Jimmy Butler in 2019, they had long been searching for a bigger fish to pair with him, and had been linked to stars including Lillard, Kevin Durant, and Donovan Mitchell.
But Butler was shipped to the Warriors last year, and the rest of the roster around Antetokounmpo is the question in Miami.
Antetokounmpo, 31, will join three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo in the Heat’s frontcourt. They have forward Andrew Wiggins and guard Davion Mitchell as key role players.
Unrestricted free agent guard Norman Powell is a major swing piece that could round out their starting five. But they may run into financial restrictions with Powell, as they are just $18 million under the first apron with five roster spots to fill.
