Miami Heat Are Frontrunners for Giannis Antetokounmpo With Draft Deadline Hours Away

Published June 22, 2026 · By The Basketball Fans Editors

The Miami Heat are the frontrunners to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the deadline to get it done, by Milwaukee’s own account, is Tuesday night, when the NBA Draft begins. Jimmy Haslam, the Bucks’ co-owner, told his front office he wants the situation resolved before picks are selected. That gives Pat Riley approximately 48 hours to close one of the larger trades in league history, and most reporting as of Sunday afternoon suggests he is closer than anyone else.

The broad strokes of the Heat’s offer have been out for a week. The package as reported: Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami’s 2026 first-round pick (13th overall), and two additional future first-round picks, with possible pick swaps added to sweeten the deal. An alternate version circulating at heavy.com adds Nikola Jovic and shifts the future picks to 2029 and 2031. The specifics are still moving. Milwaukee wants to maximize the return. Miami wants to move as few future assets as possible.

How Miami got to the front of the line

The original Giannis trade story broke in early May, when it became clear the relationship between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks’ ownership was beyond repair. At that point, the league assumed Boston was a co-favorite with Miami. The Celtics have the assets and a championship window that still arguably needs a forward of his caliber.

What shifted is subtle but important. Reporting from NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports over the past two weeks both note a “growing belief around the league” that Boston is not as committed to the trade as their asset base suggests. One explanation: the Celtics’ front office is not certain Giannis’s knees hold up the way a long-term contract implies. He has dealt with left knee soreness and general wear concerns given his physical style. Another is that the Celtics are not comfortable losing multiple unprotected future firsts for a player entering his 30s.

Miami has no such hesitation. This is what Pat Riley’s final years as a power broker look like: all-in, no hedge, legacy bet. He has operated the Heat this way since he traded for Shaquille O’Neal in 2004, signed LeBron James in 2010, and rebuilt around Jimmy Butler in 2019. The Heat are not a build-slowly franchise. They are a franchise that identifies the best player available and figures out the price afterward.

The third-team problem

Every major trade involving three teams takes longer to close, which is part of why this has dragged into the final days before the draft. Portland was the assumed third team for several months. The Trail Blazers have cap space and a useful young player or two that could absorb pieces Milwaukee does not want from Miami’s offer. But NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports are both now reporting that Detroit is linked as a third-team possibility.

The logic for Detroit: the Pistons have young players (Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey) that Miami doesn’t particularly need but Milwaukee might use as depth. The Pistons also have flexibility. What they get from participating in a trade like this is typically a combination of expiring contracts, draft considerations, or a second-round pick: the parts of a big trade that don’t fit the main exchange.

Until a third team is locked in, the deal cannot formally close. That is the variable most likely to push this past Tuesday night’s deadline despite Haslam’s stated preference.

What a Giannis-Bam pairing actually looks like

Bam Adebayo is a five-time All-Star center with genuine two-way value. He runs pick-and-roll switches as well as any center in the conference, his passing out of the elbow is underrated, and he is one of the better help defenders in the league at his position. He is also 28 and still getting better.

Giannis is a power forward who has always played best with a traditional center alongside him. In Milwaukee, the pairing with Brook Lopez gave him the space to attack the rim without having to create his own looks off the dribble from behind the three-point line. Bam gives him something different: a pick-and-roll partner who can also be a threat in the short roll, who creates second chances on offense, and who can guard the opposing center when the Heat switch, rather than forcing Giannis to guard down.

The question everyone has is whether the shooting around them is enough. Herro goes to Milwaukee in the trade. Miami’s remaining perimeter shooting is thin, whatever combination of Jimmy Butler (on his timeline), Terry Rozier, and a draft pick they hold onto. Giannis has shot 25.9 percent from three for his career. He is not going to space the floor. Miami needs wings who can.

The Heat know this. Riley knows this. This is why the 2026 thirteenth pick is in the package rather than held back. They want the wing. They might use it at 13 if the right player slides, or they might use it in a subsequent trade.

Milwaukee’s backup options

If the deal does not close before Tuesday night, Milwaukee has decisions to make about what to do with the pick (currently their own first) and how long they are willing to let this play out into July. Haslam’s hard deadline has been described to reporters as a preference, not an ultimatum, which means it could slip.

What changes after the draft: free agency opens June 30. Giannis cannot be signed-and-traded in most scenarios until after July 1 anyway. The window for a pure trade is actually the next 48 hours. If it goes past Tuesday, the structure of the deal shifts toward a sign-and-trade, which introduces new complications around cap holds, Bird rights, and the first-round pick protections teams can negotiate.

Milwaukee’s options if no deal happens before Tuesday: hold Giannis, try to rebuild the roster around him, and see if a different contender enters the picture. The Celtics have not exited the conversation, and there is a small-but-real possibility that a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have assets most franchises would covet and a young star already in place, makes a more aggressive push after the draft.

What the Heat do if Giannis falls through

Pat Riley does not leave the summer empty-handed. The backup list, per multiple reports: Ja Morant, who the Grizzlies are expected to trade regardless and who has been waiting for the Giannis situation to resolve before his own trade becomes official. Kawhi Leonard, who is healthy again and in the final year of his deal. Trae Young, who Atlanta has been shopping since the spring.

Morant is the most interesting option on that list. He is 26, the most electrifying point guard in the conference when healthy, and the Grizzlies have been patient specifically because a Giannis trade to Miami would remove the Heat from the bidding war. If the Giannis deal falls, Miami pivots hard to Ja. The price goes up. Every other team in the league knows it.

Related reading

• Giannis Antetokounmpo leaves Milwaukee
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Bam Adebayo
• Miami Heat franchise history
• Milwaukee Bucks franchise history
• Damian Lillard

Gear

If the trade happens, Giannis Heat jerseys will be the fastest-moving NBA product of the summer. The Nike heat-applied authentic versions sell out within hours of a big trade announcement. JD Sports usually has the stock when it hits. Amazon has the swingman versions and the full accessory line.

Shop Miami Heat gear on Amazon →

Shop Heat Nike at JD Sports →

Sources

The Heat’s trade package (Herro + Ware + Jaquez Jr. + 13th pick + 2 future firsts) from Heavy.com and Basketnews. The alternate Jovic-inclusive package and 2029/2031 pick details from Basketnews’ separate report. The Pistons-as-third-team link from NBC Sports’ offseason rumor tracker. The “growing belief” that Boston is not all-in from NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports reporting. Jimmy Haslam’s self-imposed draft-night deadline from Yahoo Sports. Giannis’s career shooting splits (25.9% from three), contract details ($48.8M through 2027-28), and season averages (27.9 pts, 11.1 reb, 6.2 ast) from Basketball-Reference. The Ja Morant and Kawhi Leonard as backup options from NBC Sports’ “saga could drag on past draft” report.