Inside the Bucks’ trade of Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat

With the NBA draft less than 24 hours away, the Milwaukee Bucks sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, a 2030 first-round pick swap and a 2033 second-round pick. (Wikipedia)

By SAM AMICK and ERIC NEHM

Jimmy Haslam was bluffing, or at least keeping the Milwaukee Bucks’ cards close to the vest.

It was May 6 at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where the team’s co-owner joined the rest of the Bucks’ brass, along with the media, to discuss the hiring of a new coach, Taylor Jenkins. The topic, inevitably, turned to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the looming possibility that these were his final days with the only organization he had ever known.

“I just think before the draft is a natural time,” Haslam said that day regarding the team’s planned timeline to reach a resolution. “If Giannis does play somewhere else, we ought to get a lot of assets.”

But if Antetokounmpo were to stay in Milwaukee, Haslam continued, “then you build the team differently.”

Yet, as league sources confirmed late Monday, after general manager Jon Horst agreed to an Antetokounmpo deal with the Miami Heat for the trade package of which Haslam spoke, Bucks officials already knew that there was no Milwaukee future with the Greek Freak in it. Antetokounmpo’s representatives, according to two sources, made it clear that the 31-year-old, who had one season left on his contract, would not sign the extension for which he was eligible on Oct. 1.

In today’s NBA, where no team can afford to say goodbye to a superstar without getting something in return, that meant Antetokounmpo’s 13-year run in Milwaukee coming to an end had already been deemed inevitable internally — even if, for the sake of optics and leverage in forthcoming negotiations, Haslam opted to pay lip service to the notion that Antetokounmpo might remain.

The part that wasn’t nearly so certain, and which had been evolving since the trade talks at the February deadline that set the stage for this monumental Milwaukee moment, was where Antetokounmpo would go. And in the end, with the Boston Celtics’ covert pursuit providing the kind of pressure that put the Bucks in a position of strength with the Heat, Haslam’s words could not have been more prophetic.

With the NBA draft less than 24 hours away, the Bucks sent Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis to the Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks (No. 13 in this draft, 2031 and 2033), a 2030 first-round pick swap and a 2033 second-round pick.

The vastly different nature of what the top two suitors had to offer underscored the Bucks’ challenge here, as they were forced to decide between a Celtics proposal that included 29-year-old Jaylen Brown, a bona fide star in his prime, and a Heat pitch that was more voluminous in terms of assets, if not prestige.

There were plenty of other suitors in the past year, including the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Orlando Magic, the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the final choice came down to the Heat and the Celtics.

According to league sources, the Bucks were intrigued with the idea of making Brown their new franchise centerpiece, but they also had serious concerns about whether history might repeat itself if he came to town. Brown, a five-time All-Star who is coming off the best season of his career and finished sixth in MVP voting, has three seasons and a combined $183 million left on his current deal.

But if he did not want to be in Milwaukee, as some signs suggested in recent weeks, then the Bucks might have been faced with the reality that they needed to trade him under duress to salvage a sensitive situation.

Meanwhile, the Heat were eventually willing to include the sort of players and picks that the Bucks envisioned all along, after a fair amount of deliberation.

The Bucks still have work to do, as it remains unclear if Herro will stay with the team. While there is interest in making Herro, a Milwaukee native, part of his hometown program, sources say the Bucks will also listen to offers for the 26-year-old All-Star.

Herro is believed to have a robust market, with the Detroit Pistons among the many teams interested in him. Because this trade will not be finalized until July 6, it remains possible for additional teams to take part in its final construction.

From Antetokounmpo’s viewpoint, almost all of the signs had pointed to Miami as far back as February. The Heat had long been known as one of his preferred destinations, with Antetokounmpo holding deep respect for the winning, competitive culture created by the legendary Pat Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra and general manager Andy Elisburg.

One of Antetokounmpo’s lowest professional moments came when his Bucks fell to the Heat in five games during a second-round playoff matchup in the NBA bubble in 2020.

Milwaukee had finished a league-best 56-17 during that COVID-interrupted season — 12 games better than Miami — with Antetokounmpo earning MVP honors for a second consecutive time. However, the Heat, led by the since-departed Jimmy Butler and Antetokounmpo’s new frontcourt mate, Bam Adebayo, stymied the Bucks big man and sparked a round of speculation about whether he would sign his next contract in Milwaukee.

Six years later, Antetokounmpo’s respect for the Heat program was never in question. What league sources say did cause some doubt in his mind was whether Miami’s roster might be too harmed by the deal to compete for a title.

It remains to be seen if Antetokounmpo’s reservations about the Heat scenario were well-founded. Even before any discussion about Miami’s depth, and how the Heat took a significant hit with this move, there is the fact that Antetokounmpo and Adebayo will have wrinkles to work out as co-stars whose skill sets are not widely seen as complementary.

What’s more, two of the Heat’s most impactful players — Norm Powell and Andrew Wiggins — have contract situations this summer that need to be resolved. Wiggins has a player option for $30.1 million for next season, while Powell is an unrestricted free agent.

Antetokounmpo will not be comfortable until he knows what the Heat’s rotation might look like next season. However, after all these years of wondering whether his days in Milwaukee are numbered, a new chapter finally begins for Antetokounmpo and the organization that raised him.

For better or worse.