The Giannis Antetokounmpo clock just keeps ticking, with less than three weeks remaining until the deadline that Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam set back in early May.
By the time the June 23 NBA Draft arrives, as Haslam publicly shared back then, we should know whether Antetokounmpo is finally going to be traded — and to where. (As we saw this week, Haslam is apparently not shy about trading franchise players if the price is right). Yet when it comes to a decision of this magnitude, with a trade market that keeps evolving with every passing round of this postseason, it behooves the Bucks to let all of the relevant data roll in before making a final decision.
Case in point: The Oklahoma City dethroning.
While the Thunder have not been expected to pursue Antetokounmpo, the specific nature of their failed title defense against San Antonio in the West finals was enough to make rival teams wonder if that stance might change. Not only did Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama pose the kinds of problems that Antetokounmpo is uniquely positioned to help solve, but the series-long struggles of Thunder big man Chet Holmgren served as (even more) evidence that he isn’t the best man for that job.
Considering the massive amount of draft picks in Oklahoma City’s cabinet — 12 first-round picks and 13 second-round picks between 2026 and 2033, including Nos. 12 and 17 in this year’s draft — the Bucks would surely be willing to consider any and all scenarios that the Thunder might be open to exploring. Yet even if Oklahoma City stands pat on this front, the point remains: The Bucks can be patient about all of the different possibilities that may or may not emerge, with teams all over the league analyzing their respective level of interest in real time, before making that final call that has been years in the making.
That includes the New York Knicks too, by the way. While the Eastern Conference champs are riding high now, it’s worth remembering that Antetokounmpo showed legitimate interest in playing for them last summer. And while this historic Knicks run in the postseason has certainly lessened the likelihood of that scenario materializing, you never know how the team’s stakeholders might feel if these finals don’t go their way.
For now, though, we’re breaking down the four teams that have already been eliminated below, in large part, because of two key factors: The widely-held belief that Antetokounmpo prefers to play in the East, and the level of chatter relating to those teams around the league. To that end, the Portland possibility that has become such a focal point is, per league sources, unlikely based on Antetokounmpo’s preference to play in the East.
This is the 2.0 version of this story, as we chronicled the domino effect of the early playoffs on the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes earlier this month.
Miami Heat
The noise surrounding the Miami Heat and Antetokounmpo remains louder than all the rest. Many people around the league, from agents to executives, continue to believe that Antetokounmpo will end up in Miami when this saga finally comes to an end.
Team president Pat Riley made it clear that the Heat would be aggressive this offseason and few moves would be more aggressive than making a deal to bring the two-time NBA MVP to South Beach. Miami was among the most dogged teams in its pursuit of Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline, when league sources say the talks were so advanced that Heat officials were optimistic about a deal getting done. The Bucks, of course, ultimately opted to wait for this summer to revisit the situation.
The rumors of Giannis’ openness to Miami have persisted for years, and league sources indicate that he remains both intrigued and impressed with the organization’s winning culture. But the more specific question, and the thing that is known to be a concern for Antetokounmpo, is this: Could the Heat truly contend anytime soon if they have to gut their roster to get him?
While the Heat could offer Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez and all three first-round picks at their disposal (two future firsts and No. 13 in the 2026 NBA Draft), that sort of deal would leave Antetokounmpo with the prospect of competing with Bam Adebayo, Norm Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and…not much else. Riley and longtime Heat general manager Andy Elisburg would certainly try to improve the supporting cast with other offseason moves, but depth would likely be an issue.
Rival executives question the potential fit with Antetokounmpo alongside Adebayo as well. While Adebayo is a three-time All-Star and six-time All Defensive team honoree, he is — despite taking 5.5 3s per game (31.8 percent) last season — not much of a floor spacer. That has been a requisite for any center starting alongside Antetokounmpo since former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer blitzed the league with a five-out, let it fly configuration in the 2018-19 season, Antetokounmpo’s first MVP campaign.
The Bucks, meanwhile, are on the lookout for a deal that includes a blue-chip young star or a massive quantity of picks. And while there are quality players and picks in any projected Heat offer, it’s not hard to imagine other teams offering a stronger package if the Heat’s aggressiveness improves the market.
For Antetokounmpo’s part, there has been one constant in his 13-year career: he wants to compete for championships. When he didn’t have a championship, it was the only thing that he wanted. Then once he led the Bucks to their first title in 50 seasons in 2021, he spent the last five seasons obsessing over how to get another one.
Would he be much closer to reaching that goal again in Miami? There’s no way to know just yet, but Antetokounmpo’s opinion on the matter will likely come into play. While he has no direct influence in trade discussions, his willingness to commit to his next team for the long term — or not to — will be a key factor.
Boston Celtics
Behold the wild card in the bunch.
While the Celtics have been controlling the messaging about their part in the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes recently, with longtime Celtics reporter Steve Bulpett indicating that there have been no direct talks between Boston and Milwaukee, there were strong signs at the February trade deadline that they were chewing on the possibility. Yet in stark contrast to the Miami situation, where Riley is shouting from the rooftops about the Heat’s plans to chase a star of Antetokounmpo’s ilk, it’s not hard to figure out why the Celtics might move more quietly here.
For starters, the rumors surrounding Jaylen Brown’s alleged discontent have quieted down for the past few weeks. The 29-year-old sparked all sorts of speculation about his future in early May, when he declared this his “most fun season” yet on a livestream just one day after Boston was bounced by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. Beyond the strangeness of that comment coming after such a bad postseason finish, it was the fact that he spent the vast majority of this season without longtime co-star, Jayson Tatum (who was recovering from his Achilles tendon tear) that made the optics even worse.
But the Celtics took measures, both publicly and privately, to insist that this storyline was overblown. As such, any exploration of the Antetokounmpo possibility — if there is one this time around — would likely be discreet. Still, the Bucks would be well served to flesh out the Celtics possibilities.
If the Celtics were willing to offer Brown in a Giannis trade, it would be hard for the Bucks to find a more accomplished player. Brown is a five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA player and the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, but he is also just two years younger than Antetokounmpo. So while there is no doubting the ability of Boston’s All-NBA forward coming off a career year, he might not fit their timeline or, as rival executives have indicated, their desire to land that top-tier young player in this deal. Still, a multi-team deal in which Brown headed elsewhere could serve them very well in terms of other players and assets. After all, he’s a tremendous player who’s still in the middle of his prime.
And then there’s the question of how Antetokounmpo sees the Celtics situation. That might matter more than anything else. While league sources have long maintained that he’s interested in joining the Heat, there are also indications that he’s very intrigued with the prospect of joining a Celtics team that, by any objective measure, is deeper and more dynamic than Miami’s and could thus remain more competitive after a blockbuster deal. And again, Antetokounmpo’s focus on getting back to title contention should not be overlooked.
With (reluctant) Coach of the Year Joe Mazzulla at the helm coming off a 56-win season and Tatum headlining a deep roster, Antetokounmpo would be joining one of the Eastern Conference’s most successful franchises of the last decade. There was this fascinating sound bite after the season from Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, too.
“One of the things that we’ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim,” he told reporters.
Few players in the NBA do that better than Giannis, but it remains to be seen if Boston will chase him.
Orlando Magic
The NBA Finals start Wednesday and the Orlando Magic’s head coach will be there… on the sideline, trying to help the San Antonio Spurs win a championship ring.
As we wrote back in April, Sweeney entered the offseason considered to be “the top available (first-time NBA head coach) by a wide margin” by many folks around the league. It was no surprise, then, that he ended up beating out more experienced candidates like Billy Donovan and Jeff Van Gundy to land the Orlando job. The Magic have lost in the first round of the playoffs each of the last three seasons, so they need the right coach to help them take the next step.
Or… maybe the right trade?
The Magic, who could offer a young franchise centerpiece in 23-year-old Paolo Banchero, were among the teams that inquired about Antetokounmpo before the February trade deadline. And now, with this current group having fallen well short of expectations by falling to Detroit in the first round, they employ a coach whose direct ties to Antetokounmpo have become a topic of discussion around the league since his hiring.
Back in 2014, Sweeney was a Bucks assistant coach who was given the opportunity to run the defensive game plan under head coach Jason Kidd. While that was a huge opportunity for the then-30-year-old, it was his role as Antetokounmpo’s development coach that is even more relevant to this topic. For four years, Sweeney was the man that oversaw Antetokounmpo’s workouts. He traveled to Athens in the offseason to work with the “Greek Freak” and he pushed Antetokounmpo hard during his time in Milwaukee. What’s more, the Magic links to Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee past hardly end there.
Orlando’s president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman was the assistant general manager in Milwaukee when the Bucks drafted Antetokounmpo in 2013. John Hammond, Orlando’s senior advisor of basketball operations, was, of course, the Bucks general manager who decided to roll the dice on the skinny kid no one knew from Greece with the 15th pick that season. If Antetokounmpo wants a return to his roots, with these key figures offering so much familiarity and trust from their shared history, Orlando is the place to be.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Apparently Evan Mobley is staying put? To hear Cavs general manager Koby Altman tell it at his postseason news conference, when he raved about the big man’s value to Cleveland’s program and pushed back on the speculation about him being on the move, the notion of Mobley being a central figure in the Antetokounmpo situation might be overstated.
Before Altman’s quasi-declaration, Mobley had become a popular player to discuss in relation to Antetokounmpo’s future. If the Cavs were willing to send him elsewhere, either to Milwaukee or perhaps a team like the Thunder that has the kinds of assets that would aid the Bucks’ cause, then Cleveland could potentially have a Donovan Mitchell-James Harden-Giannis Antetokounmpo trio that could certainly contend.
Mobley would be a better young prospect than anyone the Heat could offer, but he is already on a contract that will pay him $222.7 million over the next four seasons. For that size of contract, the Bucks would have to be hoping for significantly better production over the length of the deal. And the Cavaliers are limited to three first-round picks just like the Heat (No. 29 in this year’s draft and two future firsts), but Mobley’s potential could secure the Bucks something closer to an elite young player. Then again, Altman’s recent messaging makes it sound as if that option won’t be on the Bucks’ table.
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