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Giannis Antetokounmpo trade nears resolution before the NBA Draft
Second-round loss. First-round loss. First-round loss. First-round loss. Missed playoffs. Those have been the results of the last five seasons for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. That stretch helps explain why Antetokounmpo is now on his way out of Milwaukee, with a trade expected before the 2026 NBA Draft begins Tuesday.
Antetokounmpo wants to win, and the Bucks have not been winning. It would be easy to assume he will have better luck elsewhere. However, that assumption deserves scrutiny. If the Bucks were not contenders with Antetokounmpo on the roster, there is no guarantee his next team automatically becomes one.
Heat and Celtics emerge as the finalists
The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have emerged as the two finalists to land Antetokounmpo, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Miami missed the playoffs last year despite finishing 43-39. Boston was bounced in the first round after blowing a 3-1 series lead. Both teams could clearly use the help.
The two offers on the table differ dramatically. Boston’s proposal centers on five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown, who averaged a career-high 28.7 points per game last season and finished sixth in MVP voting. Miami’s offer instead leans on cost-controlled young talent and draft capital, reportedly including Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft.
Why neither deal guarantees instant contention
An Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum pairing sounds promising on paper, depending on how the rest of the roster fills out, even with Brown likely headed to Milwaukee in that scenario. A frontcourt featuring Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo in Miami sounds formidable as well.
However, neither the Heat nor the Celtics would be favored to leap past the Knicks next season after an Antetokounmpo trade. It is also unclear whether either team would beat a healthy Pacers squad, or the Pistons. Would they be better than the Cavaliers or the Hawks? That remains genuinely uncertain.
Boston would carry a real championship ceiling if Tatum returns to his pre-Achilles injury form and Antetokounmpo avoids the injuries that have limited him recently. That outcome represents the one scenario with genuine potential to shift the East’s balance of power. Still, those represent significant ifs.
The case for Miami is even harder to make
Making the case for Miami is more difficult given the reported scope of what they would surrender. Trading away Herro, Ware, Jaquez Jr. and a first-round pick clears out a meaningful chunk of the roster’s young talent and draft capital. Acquiring Antetokounmpo is worth making that deal regardless, given his caliber as a two-time MVP. Nevertheless, what remains afterward looks like a strong defensive team with a glaring lack of shooting around its new superstar.
More work remains regardless of destination
Landing Antetokounmpo is a win in itself for either franchise. However, it should not represent the finish line for whichever team completes the trade. Both Miami and Boston will have additional work to do this offseason to become genuine threats in the East and avoid repeating the same disappointing pattern that defined Milwaukee’s last five seasons.
Source: For The Win / USA Today
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