Buckle up, basketball fans — the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talk is really starting to heat up.
It’s officially the NBA offseason, and everyone now awaits the inevitable news that the Milwaukee Bucks have traded their superstar and face of the franchise after 13 years with the team.
Just in the last 36 hours since the New York Knicks won the championship, we’ve heard that the Boston Celtics are pushing for Antetokounmpo, and now on Monday morning, ESPN insider Brian Windhorst has suggested that Giannis himself wants to become a member of the Miami Heat.
“Talks have intensified over the last seven to 10 days. Look, he has focused on wanting to be a member of the Miami Heat and because he’s only got one year on his contract, he has some control over that. But the Heat and the Bucks have been talking for months and not agreed to a deal because the Bucks don’t love the Heat’s offer. There are third teams involved, there are fourth teams,”
The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo has two years remaining on the three-year, $175,369,698 contract extension he signed with the Bucks back in 2023, which includes a player opt out after the 2026-27 campaign. He averaged 27.6 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 5.4 APG across just 36 games played this past season.
Miami is understandably holding firm on its stance of not including star center Bam Adebayo in any deal, hoping instead to pair him with Antetokounmpo and become title contenders in the Eastern Conference.
As a result, trade offers have likely revolved around players such as Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, and of course, draft picks. By the sounds of it, that might not be enough for Milwaukee, which is why a third or even fourth team may need to join the party to sweeten the deal for the Bucks.
There’s no guarantee Antetokounmpo gets dealt to the Heat simply because he wants to, but we know star players tend to get what they want in the NBA. Because of that, Miami has to be viewed as the frontrunner for now.
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