The long-rumored trade of Giannis Antetokounmpo finally occurred, with the Milwaukee Bucks dealing the superstar big man to the Miami Heat late Monday night, according to multiple media outlets.
The Heat reportedly sent the Bucks a package featuring guard Tyler Herro, center Kel’el Ware, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., guard Kasparas Jakucionis, first-round draft picks in 2026 (No. 13 overall), 2031 and 2033, a pick swap in 2030 and a 2033 second-round selection.
Milwaukee reportedly is sending forward Bobby Portis to Miami in the deal, too.
The Heat and the Boston Celtics had been widely viewed as the finalists in the Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes ahead of the draft on Tuesday.
The Celtics’ offer for the two-time NBA MVP reportedly included five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown.
Antetokounmpo, 31, was the subject of trade rumors for more than a year. He is under contract for 2026-27 with a $58.5 million cap hit and has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, according to Spotrac.
The 10-time All-Star played a career-low 36 games in 2025-26 and Milwaukee missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee on March 15 and was shut down for the rest of the season, though he feuded with the team regarding his health.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to an NBA championship in 2021 and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (895), points (21,531), rebounds (8,882), assists (4,484) and blocked shots (1,088).
Herro, 26, averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 33 games (28 starts) last season, when he was slowed by multiple injuries. Through seven NBA seasons, he has career averages of 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
Ware, 22, logged career highs of 11.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest last season in his second NBA campaign.
Jaquez, 25, was the runner-up to the San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season. In his third NBA campaign, he produced 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, all improvements on his career 12.1, 4.4 and 3.3 figures, respectively.
Jakucionis, 20, contributed 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 53 games (12 starts) as a rookie for Miami last season.
All four players headed to the Bucks had played all of their NBA careers with the Heat.
–Field Level Media
