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Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on before a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Fiserv Forum.
The NBA world finally got what it was waiting for late Monday night: the Milwaukee Bucks finally pulled the trigger on a trade with the Miami Heat for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was first to break the news.
BLOCKBUSTER: The Milwaukee Bucks are trading franchise icon 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, sources tell ESPN.
It’s a monster package coming back to Milwaukee, featuring four players, four draft picks, and one pick swap.
Miami wasn’t the only team interested in Antetokounmpo’s services. The Boston Celtics were close behind, according to Charania, offering former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and two first-round draft picks to the Bucks.
In the end, Milwaukee opted for Miami’s package, and it’s possible it may have had something to do with former Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner and alternate governor Jimmy Haslam got involved with Antetokounmpo negotiations and pushed his team towards the Miami Heat’s package.
Haslam’s recent experience with his other professional sports team, the Cleveland Browns, was on his mind.
“Sources say Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam was a driving force in taking the Heat deal for Giannis over Boston’s offer,” reported O’Connor in a post on X.
“Haslam didn’t want to risk Jaylen Brown wanting out of Milwaukee in a year after dealing with Giannis and Myles Garrett trade demands. Haslam wanted certainty, and the Miami deal provided more of that with more total assets in return to Milwaukee.”
In Haslam’s defense, there are plenty of similarities between what happened with Garrett and what could have gone down with Brown had the Bucks landed him.
After a public trade request in the winter of 2025, the Browns opted to make Garrett the highest-paid defensive player in football with a four-year, $160 million contract.
Another losing season ensued, and Garrett ended up getting traded anyway. Had Cleveland dealt their perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate a year earlier, they may have gotten a package better than the one they received from the Los Angeles Rams.
Let’s say Milwaukee tried to field a competitor with Brown as the centerpiece in the 2026-27 season. There’s a big chance the team would’ve flamed out the same way they did this past year.
Then, the Bucks are looking to trade Brown and his roughly $57 million annual salary for pennies on the dollar.
Regardless of input from Haslam, it feels like the Milwaukee Bucks made the right choice between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics trade packages.
Had they gone with Brown and the draft picks, the Bucks wouldn’t be any closer to winning a championship than when they had Antetokounmpo, and quite frankly, they would be much worse.
By opting for the Heat’s package of youngsters and draft capital, Milwaukee not only gives itself a better future outlook in terms of picks, but it also has several young players who have potential.
Tyler Herro may not be the best player on a contender, but he’s a former All-Star and 20-point-per-game scorer who can close out games.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel’el Ware aren’t necessarily established players, but are 25 and 22-years old, respectively, and still have time to grow.
The Bucks’ future is brighter now than it would have been with Brown, and I guess you can thank Haslam and Garrett for that.
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