DHJ Quick Take: Heat Acquire Giannis in Blockbuster Trade
- The Blockbuster Core: The Milwaukee Bucks have traded superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and big man Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat in a massive, franchise-altering blockbuster deal.
- Milwaukee’s Immense Return Package: In exchange, the Bucks receive a substantial haul of young talent and draft assets, landing Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, the No. 13 overall pick in this year’s draft, a 2030 pick swap and a 2033 second-round pick.
- All-Star Pairing Realized: The trade unites Antetokounmpo with fellow All-Star Bam Adebayo, fulfilling a long-standing desire for the two stars—who share the same agent, Alex Saratsis of Octagon—to play alongside one another in Miami.
The Milwaukee Bucks have traded Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
Miami is getting Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, while Milwaukee is acquiring Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks (including No. 13 this year), one pick swap and one second-rounder.
The Heat are sending the Bucks unprotected first-rounders in 2031 and 2033, along with the 13th pick in this year’s draft, a pick swap in 2030 and a 2033 second-rounder.
Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo have the same agent, Alex Saratsis (Octagon). The two All-Stars have long wanted to play together, sources told Dallas Hoops Journal.
Antetokounmpo will make $58.5 million next season. He has a player option worth $62.8 million for the 2027-28 season. The Bucks signed Antetokounmpo to a three-year, $175 million extension in 2023. The star forward doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract.
A future Hall of Famer, Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP, one-time Finals MVP, one-time Defensive Player of the Year and 10-time All-Star. He has been in the NBA since 2013. The 31-year-old won back-to-back MVPs in 2019 and 2020 and became the third player in NBA history to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season in 2020.
Miami has been looking for a superstar ever since LeBron James left South Beach in 2014. Pat Riley finally got his guy.
Multiple sources told Dallas Hoops Journal that Antetokounmpo wanted to play for an East Coast team because the East Coast is close to Greece. Antetokounmpo’s wife and children don’t live with him in America during the NBA season. They reside in Greece.
Miami, of course, is on the East Coast.
The Heat went 43-39 and finished 10th in the East this past season. They lost in the 9-10 play-in game to the Charlotte Hornets, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
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