The Milwaukee Bucks are trading Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 3 first-round picks (including No. 13), 1 pick swap and 1 second-rounder, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
The total: six players, five picks, and one blockbuster trade that dramatically alters the NBA landscape.
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Antetokounmpo, 31, is a two-time MVP, 10-time All-Star, nine-time All-Defensive team member and one-time Defensive Player of the Year. Eight years after Milwaukee made him the No. 15 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to an NBA championship and claimed Finals MVP honors.
Barring a surprise, Antetokounmpo will be the best player to change teams this offseason. Now that it’s official, the Heat have a potential nucleus to challenge the top teams in the Eastern Conference for supremacy — nine days after the New York Knicks won the NBA championship.
Earlier in the day, Charania reported Antetokounmpo would be traded before the June 23 NBA Draft. The Heat and the Boston Celtics were the finalists.
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Boston reportedly offered a package that included 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown as well as two future first-round picks.
“GOD, I trusted you at the beginning, and I will continue to trust you throughout,” Antetokounmpo wrote June 22 on X.
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According to multiple reports, the trade won’t officially be completed until July 6. That means the Heat will draft a player 13th on Tuesday but not keep him.
Antetokounmpo is currently in the middle of a 3-year, $175 million contract extension he signed in October 2023.
Antetokounmpo is owed $58.5 million next season and $62.8 million in 2027-28. He is expected to sign a long-term extension once the trade is official.
How the Heat navigate their limited first apron space remains to be seen, but that is a problem for tomorrow. Today, they are the winners of the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes — and perhaps the entire offseason.
