06/22/26 11:40:00
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06/22 23:38 CDT Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded to Heat in blockbuster, AP
source says
Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded to Heat in blockbuster, AP source says
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
MIAMI (AP) --- Giannis Antetokounmpo wants more championships. So do the Miami
Heat.
And the Heat finally have another superstar.
Ending a marathon watch for the next great Miami get, the Heat landed
Antetokounmpo --- a two-time NBA MVP and 10-time All-Star --- from the
Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night in exchange for a massive haul of players and
draft picks.
The terms, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition
of anonymity because the move has yet to receive the required league approval:
Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis are heading to Miami for Wisconsin native Tyler
Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis. Milwaukee also
gets at least four picks, including the No. 13 selection that will be made in
Tuesday night's NBA draft.
It ends a wild back-and-forth in the final days of the saga, with the Bucks
considering offers from both Miami and Boston for Antetokounmpo --- who led
Milwaukee to the 2021 NBA title, was on the NBA's 75th anniversary list of its
greatest players ever, is a nine-time All-NBA selection and is coming off an
injury-shortened season where he averaged 27.6 points per game.
There has been no secret that this is what Miami has sought, because this is
what Miami usually seeks. The Heat pulled off similar moves by landing
Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 (helping lead to the 2006 NBA title) and by getting
LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play alongside Dwyane Wade in 2010 (leading to
four NBA Finals runs in four seasons together, along with the 2012 and 2013 NBA
titles).
Now, it's Antetokounmpo's turn. At 31, the Heat clearly believe he still has
many good years left --- and it's generally presumed that by making this deal
they'll give the Greek superstar a massive extension later this year.
He was a perennial MVP candidate in Milwaukee, getting votes for that award in
nine consecutive seasons before 2025-26 when too many missed games left him
ineligible.
He has averaged 24.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game in his career, with 10
consecutive seasons of averaging at least 22.9 points --- with three years in
there of averaging more than 30 points per game.
Only seven current players have more points in their careers than
Antetokounmpo, who has totaled 21,531 to this point.
Antetokounmpo had been mentioned in trade talks countless times in recent
years, with the Bucks always insisting --- with words and actions --- that they
had no interest in trading their best player and one of the best players in the
history of their franchise.
But this time, it seemed different.
The Bucks, who fired Doc Rivers as coach after the season, don't have a roster
that would be considered a championship contender. By trading Antetokounmpo,
they can essentially start over with four players (and the Heat were high on
all of them) along with draft capital.
"I just think before the draft is a natural time, right, because if Giannis
does play somewhere else we're going to get a lot of assets. ... You've got to
get it right," Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said in May, when the team
introduced new coach Taylor Jenkins --- who was told that Antetokounmpo may or
may not be with the franchise when next season starts.
Jenkins and the rest of the NBA now has the answer: Antetokounmpo won't be
there.
Antetokounmpo had spoken highly of Miami many times over the years, even when
the Heat and Bucks were going head-to-head in the playoffs. He also shares an
agent with Heat star center Bam Adebayo, who was the only player that Miami
clearly was not willing to part with in order to make this deal happen.
"They're going to play tough and they're not going to stop playing,"
Antetokounmpo said after Milwaukee played Miami on March 12. "That's the Miami
Heat culture."
Little did anyone know that night that those words were coming after what would
be the next-to-last game for Antetokounmpo in a Bucks uniform. He played three
nights later against Indiana, then was held out of Milwaukee's final 15 games
of the season.
The Bucks said that was for injury-related reasons. Antetokounmpo said he
wanted to play.
He had some bouts with injury this past season: Antetokounmpo missed four games
in late November with a left adductor strain and sat out eight games in
December with a right calf strain, then he injured the right calf again in
January.
He landed awkwardly on a dunk in that March 15 victory over Indiana and didn't
play again due to what team officials had labeled as a left knee hyperextension
and bone bruise. Antetokounmpo said the last few weeks of the season that he
was healthy and wanted to play, a dispute that resulted in an investigation by
the league office.
___
AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Milwaukee contributed.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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