Milwaukee Bucks don trade dia franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-round pick, according to sources wey talk to ESPN.
The Heat dey send to Milwaukee unprotected first-rounders for 2031 and 2033, plus number 10 pick for Tuesday NBA draft. The trade no include any additional teams — e be one-to-one move, but both sides go execute the deal for July 6, wey leave the framework open to see if opportunities dey to expand.
Heat president Pat Riley don finally make im long-anticipated new landmark acquisition. Antetokounmpo join elite Miami pickups like LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh, Alonzo Mourning and Jimmy Butler for the past 30-plus years. Riley go pair the two-time NBA MVP and 2021 Finals MVP with Bam Adebayo to lead contention for the Eastern Conference.
The Heat title odds change from 30-1 Monday morning to 18-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook after news of the trade break Monday night. The Bucks dey acquire four players wey dey dia 20s for the deal. Herro, wey be Wisconsin native, average 22.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists last season. The 26-year-old play only 33 games last season after undergoing surgery on im left foot for September.
Ware, wey be 7-foot center, average 14.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for im rookie season. Jaquez Jr. average 8.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists for 67 games. Jakucionis, 20-year-old, be number 10 pick for the draft and dey expected to contribute off the bench for Erik Spoelstra rotation.
After informing teams say the Bucks dey open for business at the NBA draft combine for May, general manager Jon Horst land a haul with the Heat offer wey bring high-level starting and rotation players, young talent and surplus draft capital. The Bucks seriously negotiate with two finalists for recent weeks: the Heat and Boston Celtics, wey both dey Antetokounmpo list of preferred destinations.
The Celtics register interest for Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline for February, and dem aggressively pursue am this time around, offering Milwaukee a package wey include 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks, according to sources. The Bucks choose the Heat offer to bring more flexibility and big-picture approach with controlled contracts and long-term competitiveness for new coach Taylor Jenkins to imagine the next generation of Milwaukee — versus a veteran, win-now, superstar-player-led package wey place immediate focus on present.
Horst and Heat general manager Andy Elisburg finalize the agreement Monday night. Celtics president Brad Stevens no don actively shop Brown for trade talks, but the franchise don now offer Brown twice for future Hall of Famers for the past four offseasons. For 2022, Brown be the centerpiece of Boston proposal to Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant.
For the Bucks and teams wey dey interested for Antetokounmpo, im ability to influence talks play role. He get one guaranteed year left for im contract ahead of a 2027 player option. E give am power for dictating which team e dey willing to give long-term commitment, because any team wey trade for Antetokounmpo for the second-apron era of a parity-driven collective bargaining agreement want to know whether e go sign new extension. According to ESPN Bobby Marks, Antetokounmpo go dey eligible starting January.
Antetokounmpo spend 13 seasons for Milwaukee, growing from lanky, unheralded first-round pick to racking up accolades. E be 10-time All-Star, two-time MVP and Defensive Player of the Year for 2020. E become the only player for NBA history with five All-Star selections, five All-NBA selections, multiple MVPs, a Finals MVP and a DPOY before im 27th birthday.
With Portis included for the deal and Thanasis Antetokounmpo be free agent, no players from the Bucks 2021 title team remain for Milwaukee. The move end an awkward saga between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks wey don drag on for more than a year. Sources tell ESPN say Antetokounmpo and im agent, Alex Saratsis, consistently inform the Bucks from May 2025 through last month say the franchise legend want a trade from the organization because e believe e be best for both sides to part ways.
Antetokounmpo representatives inform the Bucks several times for the past 13 months — including before, during and after the season — say e no go sign another long-term extension with the team, according to sources. The Bucks make the decision to hold on to Antetokounmpo at every turn for the past year — before beginning to listen to aggressive offers at the February trade deadline. Antetokounmpo and Saratsis stick to dia stance, trying to handle the trade as privately as possible, and receive dia wish of landing for one of Antetokounmpo preferred destinations.
For 2021, Antetokounmpo bring Milwaukee im first NBA title since 1971, but im frustration with the team begin to grow with the Bucks repeated failures for the playoffs ever since. The team don win one playoff series (2022) since the championship and crash out of the playoffs with three straight first-round exits before missing the playoffs entirely this past season at 32-50. Since winning a title, Antetokounmpo don often repeat im desire to compete for a second championship.
Last summer, for the wake of a third consecutive first-round exit and a dwindling chance of competing for the East, Horst attempt to sell Antetokounmpo on a roster wey fit still contend. Milwaukee make an unprecedented move to waive and stretch the remaining $113 million on Damian Lillard contract over five seasons to sign center Myles Turner for four years and $108 million. During a meeting for Greece with Antetokounmpo for July, Horst continue im sales pitch and tell Antetokounmpo say e believe the team go contend for the East.
Still, Antetokounmpo push for a trade, with im reps make e clear say New York Knicks be im preferred destination. The Bucks and the Knicks briefly engage for discussions last summer, but New York never believe Milwaukee seriously consider trading im superstar. The Bucks, on the other hand, believe the Knicks offers never serious enough. Antetokounmpo begin the season pledging im loyalty to the Bucks, while also acknowledging say “if for six, seven months I change my mind, I think that be human too.”
E no take that long, as Milwaukee season quickly spiral. For December, Antetokounmpo and im agent reiterate to Horst a message dem don deliver since May 2025: The franchise no dey for position to compete, and the time don come to part ways. Although Antetokounmpo restate im stance to the team privately, e never do so publicly. But as Antetokounmpo battle several injuries throughout the season, the Bucks lean on the idea say im return go catapult dem back into the playoff picture.
The losses continue to pile up ahead of the trade deadline for February, however, forcing the Bucks to engage for trade talks. When talks stall, the Bucks choose to hold on to am, and Antetokounmpo rally Bucks fans by posting a clip from “The Wolf of Wall Street” wey Leonardo DiCaprio character say, along with some expletives, say e no dey leave im job. But Antetokounmpo play only six more games for the Bucks after the deadline before hyperextending im left knee during a game on March 15, wey lead to deeper discord between the organization and im superstar.
With the Bucks eliminate from playoff contention and Antetokounmpo still dey deal with injuries, the team urge am to shut down for the final month. E rebuke such requests and remain adamant about returning to the court through the final weeks of the season, leading to an NBA investigation over im shutdown. The league conclude no further action dey warranted. For early May, as the Bucks dey introduce Jenkins, co-owner Jimmy Haslam set a clock on Antetokounmpo future, stating the team want a decision by the NBA draft on June 23 for am to either sign an extension for October or be traded.
Antetokounmpo, 31, now head to the Heat coming off a contentious feud with the only organization e don ever know, after playing for a career-low 36 games last season. The Heat go 43-39 last season and finish 10th for the East. Dem lose for the 9-10 play-in game to Charlotte Hornets, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
