One of the greatest NBA players of the 21st century is on the move, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that the Bucks have agreed to trade two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat.
In exchange for Antetokounmpo and veteran big man Bobby Portis, who will also be sent to Miami in the blockbuster deal, Milwaukee will receive guard Tyler Herro, center Kel’el Ware, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., guard Kasparas Jakucionis, this year’s No. 13 overall pick, two future first-rounders, a pick swap, and a second-rounder, sources tell Charania.
The future draft assets in the deal are the Heat’s own unprotected first-rounders in 2031 and 2033, a first-round pick swap in 2030, and Miami’s 2033 second-round pick, Charania adds (Twitter link).
The trade agreement marks the conclusion of a lengthy saga that began in earnest last offseason when word broke that the Knicks and Bucks had briefly discussed a possible trade after Antetokounmpo indicated that he would have interest in playing in New York.
Those talks didn’t go anywhere, but when Milwaukee got off to a slow start in 2025/26 and Giannis battled health issues, trade speculation began to pick up again. The Bucks reportedly spoke to several teams prior to February’s deadline, including the Warriors, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Heat. They stood pat again at that time, but Miami’s offer was reportedly the one the Bucks considered most seriously.
The relationship between the Bucks and Antetokounmpo, who had been in Milwaukee since being drafted 15th overall in 2013, began to show more serious signs of fraying during the final months of the season. The superstar forward bristled at the fact that co-owner Wes Edens told ESPN the club intended to either extend or trade him, then clashed with the organization over its handling of his knee injury — Giannis felt he was healthy enough to return to action and the Bucks disagreed, prompting the NBA to investigate the matter (the team was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing).
With Antetokounmpo set to enter the final guaranteed year of his current contract, it became clear after Milwaukee’s season ended that resolution would be coming sooner rather than later. Giannis reportedly conveyed to the team that he thought it was in both sides’ best interests to go their separate ways, and the Bucks’ other co-owner, Jimmy Haslam, stated in May that the club viewed the draft as the unofficial deadline to resolve the situation. Sure enough, Milwaukee has finalized a trade agreement less than 24 hours before the first round gets underway.
Due to his contract situation, Antetokounmpo had some leverage to influence the Bucks’ trade talks, and Miami has long been viewed as one of his preferred landing spots. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), the 31-year-old would’ve been willing to sign a long-term extension with the Heat, Celtics, or Timberwolves.
Both Minnesota and Boston were also involved in the Giannis sweepstakes since the end of the season, but the Timberwolves, having already traded away several future draft picks, weren’t well positioned to win the bidding, which came down to the Heat and Celtics. Sources tell Charania (Twitter link) that Boston was prepared to offer star wing Jaylen Brown and a pair of first-round picks for the Greek star, but the Bucks ultimately preferred the mix of young players and draft assets that Miami put on the table.
According to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Haslam advocated for taking the Heat’s offer over the Celtics’ proposal, since he didn’t want to risk ending up in a situation where Brown sought a trade out of Milwaukee. Haslam, the owner of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, has now resolved long-running trade sagas with both Antetokounmpo and former Browns star Myles Garrett in the past month and apparently wasn’t eager for a repeat of those situations.
Herro, a Wisconsin native, is the most accomplished of the players heading to the Bucks in the deal. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2022, was named an All-Star in 2025, and has averaged at least 20 points and four assists per game in each of the past four seasons, though he was limited to 33 games this past season due to injuries. The 26-year-old, who will earn $33MM in 2026/27, is entering the final year of his contract, so it’s unclear whether he’ll be in Milwaukee’s plans going forward or if the team might look to trade him, either later this offseason or during the coming season.
Besides Herro, the Bucks are adding a promising 22-year-old center (Ware), this season’s Sixth Man of the Year runner-up (Jaquez), and a 2025 first-round pick who flashed some real potential as a rookie (Jakucionis). While all three are still on their rookie scale contracts, Jaquez will be extension-eligible this offseason ahead of potential 2027 restricted free agency.
Crucially, Milwaukee will also add a second lottery pick in what’s considered a loaded 2026 draft. The team will now control the 10th and 13th overall selections, and according to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points (Twitter link), general manager Jon Horst and his front office are expected to remain aggressive in an effort to continue adding picks.
Additionally, Milwaukee will generate considerable cap savings in the trade, notes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). The Bucks are taking back nearly $53MM in 2026/27 salary (including the cap hold for the No. 13 pick) while sending out just shy of $73MM. Assuming the trade doesn’t expand to include more teams and players, the Bucks should also generate a trade exception worth about $25.5MM, Gozlan observes.
The Heat are able to take back that excess salary because they have a $16.8MM trade exception from last summer’s Duncan Robinson sign-and-trade that can be used to absorb Portis’ incoming $14.5MM figure. Miami will use its four outgoing salaries to legally match Antetokounmpo’s $58.5MM cap hit. Based on the structure of the deal and each team’s cap situation, the trade can’t be finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on July 6, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
While the Heat are sacrificing depth in this deal, they’ve long coveted Antetokounmpo and are eager to pair him in the frontcourt with another two-way impact player, Bam Adebayo. Besides Antetokounmpo and Adebayo, Miami’s roster still features Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Nikola Jovic, Dru Smith, Portis, and potentially Andrew Wiggins, if he picks up his $30.2MM player option or works out a new deal with the club.
According to Gozlan (Twitter link), Miami currently projects to have $18.1MM in flexibility below the first tax apron to fill four roster spots. That figure doesn’t account for Norman Powell or Simone Fontecchio, who will be unrestricted free agents. The Heat will be hard-capped at the first apron for 2026/27 due to the way the Giannis trade is structured.
Miami could create more flexibility below that hard cap if Wiggins opts out or by trading one or more of its current players — Jovic, who will make $16.2MM in the first year of his rookie scale extension would be the most obvious trade candidate in that scenario. The Heat figure to prioritize play-making and shooting as they determine how to fill out the supporting cast around their new star duo of Antetokounmpo and Adebayo.
While Antetokounmpo will technically become eligible to sign an extension on October 1, extend-and-trade restrictions will limit his potential earnings until six months after the trade is officially finalized. That means his real extension window will likely open on January 6.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN details (via Twitter), Antetokounmpo would be eligible at that point to sign a maximum-salary extension that runs through the 2030/31 season. The exact value of that extension will depend on where the salary cap lands in future seasons and whether or not Giannis picks up his $62.8MM player option for 2027/28 as part of an agreement. But the current projections, per Marks, would be $275MM over four years (starting in ’27/28) or $214MM over three years (starting in ’28/29).
Antetokounmpo was limited to 36 outings this past season due to various health issues, but he played at his usual All-NBA level when he was available, averaging 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in just 28.9 minutes per game while shooting a career-best 62.4% on field goal attempts. Prior to 2025/26, he had finished in the top four in MVP voting for seven straight years, winning the award in 2019 and 2020.
