Bucks want – Milwaukee wants a decision on Giannis Antetokounmpo by next week’s NBA Draft, but the Bucks’ preference for draft capital is limiting straight swaps and tightening the options for the Heat, Celtics, and Timberwolves.
On the Bucks’ side of the rumor mill, the deadline isn’t abstract anymore. Milwaukee would like a decision on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future by the NBA Draft next week. And with Tuesday’s first round closing in. the expectations are simple: the closer it gets. the more details start to surface—especially about who can actually meet the price.
The market, though, looks complicated for Milwaukee. The Miami Heat have strong interest, with a rumored trade package centered around Tyler Herro going to Milwaukee. The Boston Celtics also have been described as interested in landing the NBA champion—but the big question is whether they’ll offer enough to get a deal done.
Right now, what stands out most is that the Bucks don’t appear impressed by the kind of trades being floated that rely on a clean one-for-one swap.
If Milwaukee ever does move, it won’t be as simple as Jaylen Brown for Giannis. The Athletic indicates that if the Bucks and Celtics do a trade, it would have to include more than just Jaylen Brown. Boston, the report says, would prefer a one-to-one swap. Milwaukee values draft picks.
From there, the possibilities expand and tighten at the same time. Boston could offer up to three first-round picks in the deal. Or the Bucks could look to reroute Brown elsewhere to obtain the draft assets they seek. If a deal grows into something bigger. there’s also the three-team angle: it has previously been reported that the Bucks like the idea of bringing the Trail Blazers into the conversation to try to regain the draft assets they sent out to land Damian Lillard a few years ago.
There is also another path in which Milwaukee keeps Brown and builds around him. The Athletic says it’s unclear how interested Milwaukee is in doing that. Either way. the underlying message from the current trade talk is that Milwaukee isn’t saying “name a star and it’s done.” They’re talking about assets. timing. and leverage—starting with the NBA Draft next week.
While that uncertainty hangs in the air, teams that want Giannis may already be planning what happens if they don’t get him.
For Miami, the Heat’s interest in Antetokounmpo has remained strong. If they lose the sweepstakes. the Heat could turn to Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers as a Plan B option. Ja Morant might also be on that list. given that the Heat held interest in him at February’s trade deadline. and the Memphis Grizzlies are “hopeful” that he will be someone else’s backup plan.
Leonard, though, comes with complications. The Golden State Warriors are also interested in Leonard. per The Athletic. which means Miami wouldn’t be operating in a vacuum if it tries to pivot. Beyond the competition, there isn’t much clarity about Leonard’s availability this offseason. It’s unclear what the Clippers’ plans are after trading James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in February for Darius Garland. The question becomes whether Los Angeles will keep Leonard as its centerpiece—or whether the club might instead send Leonard elsewhere to reset.
That uncertainty gets even more clouded by another detail: there is a looming cloud of Leonard’s status amid the league’s ongoing investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap in order to pay Leonard.
Across town in Boston, the Celtics’ situation carries a different kind of urgency. If Boston ultimately decides not to trade for Antetokounmpo in a deal that would certainly include Brown, they could look for reinforcements elsewhere.
The Celtics could keep the tandem of Brown and Jayson Tatum together and add Trey Murphy III from the New Orleans Pelicans. who could be a trade candidate this summer. The Celtics certainly wouldn’t be the only team interested in trying to pry Murphy from New Orleans. but they could offer multiple first-round picks to the Pelicans in a deal.
And yet, there’s a hard limit to how far those picks may go. The first-round picks Boston can trade may not be that valuable if the Celtics continue to make deep postseason runs.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, interest has been reported and then cooled. Minnesota was reportedly on the shortlist of teams trying to make a run at Antetokounmpo. but the report says their pursuits have “cooled. ” according to The Athletic. That could change if the Timberwolves decide to make Jaden McDaniels available.
Even if Giannis stays out of reach, Minnesota is looking at other targets. Derrick White is someone the Timberwolves reportedly have interest in. though it wouldn’t be easy to pry him from the Celtics after a career year and an All-Defensive First Team selection. If the Wolves and Celtics did both swing the way people speculate—if the Celtics land Antetokounmpo and still found a way to move White—there’s also the financial angle. Paying Tatum, Giannis, and White could hamstring the Celtics in the future because of a restrictive CBA.
The report points to something Boston has already done before after winning a championship: the Celtics dumped salary once after winning a championship in an effort to duck the luxury tax and stay far away from the second apron. If Minnesota is hoping, it’s that Boston does something similar again if it lands Antetokounmpo.
The sequence feels mechanical in the best and worst ways: one major decision in Milwaukee by the NBA Draft sets the tone for every other deal. and the options get narrower the moment teams realize they might not be able to match what the Bucks are really asking for. Herro-centered proposals. Brown-centered offers. Plan B pivots to Leonard or Morant—none of it moves cleanly unless Milwaukee is convinced it’s getting the kind of future it wants.
For now, the rumor stream is still fluid. But the clock is already running. The Bucks want an answer by the NBA Draft next week, and as Tuesday’s first round approaches, teams are adjusting their plans in real time—trying to keep their flexibility without losing their momentum.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Tyler Herro Jaylen Brown Boston Celtics Miami Heat Kawhi Leonard Ja Morant Derrick White Trey Murphy III Jayson Tatum Jaden McDaniels Damian Lillard James Harden Darius Garland