Heat waits patiently for final word as Bucks scan market for Antetokounmpo trade
The question repeatedly asked by NBA fans — Where will Giannis Antetokounmpo play next season? — could be answered in less than three weeks if the Milwaukee Bucks follow through on ownership’s stated preference to resolve his future by the start of the NBA Draft on June 23.
Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said Milwaukee will trade him if he doesn’t commit to signing a lucrative contract extension that would keep him off the free agent market in 13 months.
In a process somewhat shrouded in mystery, the most public information involves the Heat, which continues to be the most often-mentioned team connected to the two-time MVP and a team identified as the front-runner by some media outlets.
Here’s what’s known, per league sources:
▪ The Heat’s interest in closing a deal is every bit as strong as it was before the trade deadline. As the Miami Herald reported in February, aside from Bam Adebayo, there has been no player deemed off limits in the Heat’s pursuit of Antetokounmpo.
▪ A Heat package built around Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, another player or two, as well as multiple first-round draft picks and pick swaps — a deal offered in early February — is believed to still be on the table. That package held appeal to the Bucks in February, but not enough to push Milwaukee to make a deal.
“The noise surrounding the Miami Heat and Antetokounmpo remains louder than all the rest,” The Athletic said Tuesday. “Many people around the league, from agents to executives, continue to believe that Antetokounmpo will end up in Miami when this saga finally comes to an end.”
▪ The Heat is willing to negotiate, and Miami already has an understanding of which players the Bucks covet from their extensive negotiations before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. It’s doubtful the Heat would draw the line on a particular role player.
▪ The Bucks appear to be waiting until the conclusion of the playoffs to see if either of the NBA finalists wishes to bid, or if any other suitors emerge. A trade is not expected until closer to the draft.
▪ The Heat isn’t concerned with any offensive clunkiness of an Antetokounmpo/Adebayo pairing.
The Athletic’s piece on Tuesday said rival executives “question the potential fit with Antetokounmpo alongside Adebayo. While Adebayo is a three-time All-Star and six-time NBA All-Defensive Team honoree, he is — despite taking 5.5 three-pointers per game (31.8%) last season — not much of a floor-spacer. That has been a requisite for any center starting alongside Antetokounmpo since former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer blitzed the league with a five-out, let-it-fly configuration in the 2018-19 season, Antetokounmpo’s first MVP campaign.”
▪ The Heat is prepared to give Antetokounmpo an extension and is operating with the belief that it would be able to keep him beyond this season; he has a player option for 2027-28. That’s why the team is willing to open its full cupboard of assets, Adebayo aside.
But the Athletic reported that while Antetokounmpo “remains both intrigued and impressed with the organization’s winning culture.... the thing that is known to be a concern for Antetokounmpo, is this: Could the Heat truly contend anytime soon if they have to gut their roster to get him?”
An executive with one of the teams linked to Antetokounmpo said Tuesday night that he believes Antetokounmpo would commit long-term to the Heat, Knicks, Boston or Orlando if any of those four teams acquire him, while not ruling out the possibility of another team or two that might surface.
That executive said of those teams, he’s not sure that the Celtics even want him and the executive expects the Knicks will not pursue Antetokounmpo after their Finals appearance.
What’s unknown is what teams have both the willingness and ability to make an offer that the Bucks consider more appealing than the Heat’s. There have been bread crumbs and clues about several suitors, but very little information that’s credible and definitive.
There have also been conflicting reports about the level of interest around the league beyond the Heat, Magic and Trail Blazers. Longtime sports personality Ryen Russillo, formerly of ESPN, said the market for the Bucks superstar is “being described as ‘lukewarm’ by many people that would know.”
Other suitors
With Ware resuming offseason workouts on the Heat’s practice court this week, here’s an update on what has been reported by mainstream outlets and established NBA reporters about other potential suitors:
▪ Orlando has emerged as a potential threat to the Heat after hiring a head coach (Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney) with whom Antetokounmpo is close; Sweeney previously worked for the Bucks and worked out Antetokounmpo during summers in Greece.
The Magic likely would need to offer Paolo Banchero, a former All-Star who is eight years younger. A package built around Franz Wagner and the Magic’s one tradable first-round pick would not seem enticing enough.
Beyond the Sweeney connection, the Magic’s current president of basketball operations, Jeff Weltman, was a former Bucks assistant GM and speaks regularly with senior advisor John Hammond, the former Bucks GM who drafted Antetokounmpo.
And that “has only increased league curiosity about the Magic’s appetite to join the team widely perceived to be a leading contender in the Giannis Trade Sweepstakes — Orlando’s fellow Floridians on South Beach — in the chase for No. 34,” longtime NBA writer Marc Stein wrote on Substack.
▪ After initial speculation that Boston could try to acquire the two-time MVP, longtime NBA reporter Chris Haynes — who has connections with the Antetokounmpo camp — said he has not heard that the Celtics are in the mix.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said he doesn’t believe the Celtics are involved. Longtime Celtics reporter Steve Bulpett said there has been no direct contact between the Celtics and Bucks.
▪ Portland is interested in Antetokounmpo, according to Haynes and Stein.
The Blazers could make a more attractive offer for Antetokounmpo than the Heat in part because they control much of the Bucks’ draft future. The Damian Lillard trade gave Portland the right to swap picks with the Bucks in 2028, 2029 and 2030, with Boston also involved in that complicated permutation.
The Blazers also have appealing young players in Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara and Orlando’s unprotected 2028 first-round pick. But the risk of Antetokounmpo leaving after one season might be too great for Portland.
“The Portland possibility, which has become such a focal point, is, per league sources, unlikely given Antetokounmpo’s preference to play in the East,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Eric Nehm reported Wednesday.
▪ Houston, which was initially mentioned as an Antetokounmpo suitor, has not pursued him to this point. Who knows if that changes?
▪ While ESPN said the Cavaliers might pursue Antetokounmpo, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported this week that “multiple Cavs executives would oppose” trading Evan Mobley for the Bucks star. The inclusion of Mobley would be Cleveland’s only realistic pathway to a deal.
▪ The Lakers have consistently been downplayed as a contender for Antetokounmpo in recent weeks. So have the Warriors, with multiple outlets reporting that they’re less inclined to go big-game hunting this offseason.
▪ Minnesota reportedly could make another run, but their assets didn’t particularly appeal to the Bucks in February. And Antetokounmpo has spoken of his fondness for the sun and warm climates, which would raise skepticism about whether he would commit longterm to the Timberwolves.
▪ The Knicks’ motivation to pursue a trade could hinge largely on how they play in the Finals against the Spurs; the teams were unable to agree on terms in trade discussions last August. New York has always been identified as the Bucks star’s No. 1 choice.
▪ Speculation about OKC remains largely that — speculation, as opposed to sourced reports about interest in Antetokounmpo.
In the wake of the Thunder’s Game 7 loss to the Spurs, the Athletic’s Amick reported: “League sources have long maintained that Oklahoma City would not take part in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes that will dominate the summertime conversation, but this sort of stunning finish is enough to re-spark that conversation.”
If it happens with Miami...
If the Heat gets Antetokounmpo, Miami must send out at least $46.5 million in salary to take on Antetokounmpo’s $58.4 million.
Numerous hypothetical packages of players would satisfy cap rules — including Ware, Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Pelle Larsson and Dru Smith or Ware, Herro, Jaquez and Nikola Jovic.
If the Heat acquires Antetokounmpo, Miami might be able to re-sign impending free agent Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins (who has a $30 million player option) and use the full $15.5 million mid-level exception if both players take slight pay cuts in the first year of potential multi-year deals and if the Heat is willing to spend above the $201 million tax line but below the $209 million first apron.
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 2:08 PM.
